Moira was fascinating.
Adam had developed a strong interest in this mutant with reincarnation abilities. The fact that she had somehow reincarnated directly as one of his Xenomorphs made it even more intriguing.
Adam knew full well that all sorts of miracles existed in the world. Powerful individuals granted generous boons by some capricious god could pop out of nowhere at any time.
Even so, Moira's reincarnation as a Xenomorph was still utterly bizarre and far beyond his expectations. Despite his habit of planning ahead and preparing countless contingencies, he had never imagined this possibility.
"Hm. Her memories from the first two lives seem normal... everything checks out. But this time, after dying and reincarnating, she became one of my Xenomorphs."
Adam carefully sifted through Moira's mind. The woman had no secrets from him.
His brazen, forceful intrusion was felt clearly by Moira... on a spiritual level.
In her perception, it was as if an enormous, terrifying hand loomed everywhere, seizing everything and toying with it from on high, all while speaking reassuring words.
"Moira, your fate has changed. This is your greatest fortune. Since you can't resist, you might as well enjoy this unique new beginning."
"Look at your past selves... so weak and pitiful. As a mutant, you died miserably time and again. Your brilliant life withered before it could even bloom. What meaning is there in such a short existence?"
"Quiet. Don't try to resist me. You know you can't refuse my commands. On the contrary, I can control you at will."
Moira wanted to die.
She had died twice before, but nothing had ever been this horrifying. Forget fierce resistance... she couldn't even keep her most basic thoughts private.
Moira had planned to seek out Professor X, making attempt after attempt to find a reliable future where mutants could survive.
Deep down, she had even steeled herself to let Professor X read her mind, to show him her experiences across multiple lives and their outcomes.
"No... get away, stay far away from me. I shouldn't be here. I'm a mutant. I have important things to do. They need me…" Moira babbled incoherently, letting out sharp hisses, yet her instincts perversely enjoyed everything Adam did.
The worst part was knowing her reason was powerless against this level of instinct.
"Try looking at it from a different angle, Moira. Since you inexplicably reincarnated as one of my Xenomorphs, why assume I have no use for you? You believe in destiny, don't you? You believe your existence is the key to guiding mutants' future. Well, this is your new destiny... serving me as a Xenomorph."
Adam finally withdrew. He had learned everything about the woman. His tone turned casual.
No Xenomorph could refuse Adam. Absolutely none. That included Moira.
Moira was forced to lower her monstrous head in submission to Adam. The roaring in her heart had no effect on her control over this body.
"I don't understand. If my power suddenly failed one day, I could accept that. I could even face death calmly. But why am I not even a mutant anymore? After reincarnating again, I've become one of these… what did you call them? Xenomorphs?" Moira asked bitterly. She couldn't comprehend it.
Adam pondered for a moment. "If I had to name a reason, it would be my actions. I saved this world. My intervention altered the predetermined path you knew. I am an important anchor point for the current world, firmly pinning down variables that keep jumping around... including you, Moira."
Moira wouldn't believe it easily, but that damned feeling returned. A voice insisted she must trust him unconditionally. Under extreme fear, her mind grew dull and her thoughts sank into a rigid quagmire.
A while later, Moira realized Adam had stopped forcibly controlling her body. She remained silent for a long time before finally leaving the nest.
Along the way, she passed many other Xenomorphs, calmly observing her new kin.
There was no doubt that anyone who studied Xenomorphs carefully would admire them from the bottom of their heart. Every line on these creatures looked meticulously sculpted, as if they existed only in theory.
"Xenomorphs… I've never heard of these creatures before. The 93rd floor is their nest? What about the other floors? What even is the Weyland Building? I've never heard of it."
Moira worked to understand this world. She was soon stunned speechless by the changes she faced after this reincarnation, wondering if it was all an illusion or if her mind had broken.
"I haven't even acted yet, and Professor X and Magneto have already joined forces? They publicly announced it at a unity summit? Humans didn't immediately turn on mutants or launch a planned worldwide purge?"
"Vampires across the world are nearly wiped out, turned into standard hosts and food for Xenomorphs? My God... even in my previous two lives, vampires were never exterminated."
"What? Magneto went on a rampage in Westchester and was defeated by a Xenomorph host? The battle caused hundreds of thousands of deaths??"
"Extra-dimensional demon god… Dormammu… Sorcerer Supreme… Who are these people? I know Tony Stark and the Avengers... they're enemies of us mutants too. But why has the world become unrecognizable?"
Moira's mind was a mess. She quickly identified the key figure behind all these changes: Adam.
As she left the Weyland Building, the crowds waiting day and night outside immediately grew excited. They aimed cameras and recording equipment at her, snapping wildly. Some unhinged fanatics even tried to breach the police cordon to get closer to the graceful Xenomorph and connect with it.
Anyone with half a brain knew that the safest approach... unless you wanted to offend Adam and the Xenomorphs... was to walk past them, pretending you saw and heard nothing.
But if you naively treated them like harmless kittens or puppies and tried to block or touch them, you were courting death.
Unless you were Moira and could reincarnate as a Xenomorph yourself.
Moira watched the frenzied crowd and used her enhanced hearing to catch their shouted words. She felt completely numb.
"These people are worshipping me? Respecting me? Some lunatics even want to become me? What kind of deranged wish is that? They don't even want to be human anymore, let alone mutants!"
These days, even the chance to be parasitized by a Xenomorph was in high demand. It made Moira realize that the world she had reincarnated into this time was only going to become more insane and dangerous. Too many unexpected events were happening, and too many powerful figures she never should have encountered were appearing.
"Adam claims he is the anchor point defining this era…" Moira's expression was complicated. She smacked her mandibles... a subconscious action that triggered another wave of screams.
Moira began seriously re-examining her world. She needed to integrate the memories of her previous two lives with this new reincarnation.
"I'm no longer a mutant. If I die again, I don't even know if I'll reincarnate. Magneto and Professor X have already united to resist human oppression. It seems they don't need me anymore."
Moira didn't know whether to feel glad or lost.
In combat, she knew she had been pathetically weak. But now, even if she wasn't sure she still had her reincarnation ability, she at least possessed the capabilities of an adult Xenomorph: super strength, super speed, super hearing, and super regeneration.
Moira silently accepted this reality. Honestly, acceptance or not made little difference. Her body and mind now belonged to Adam. Though she had never even seen his face, she deeply felt his absolute control over her.
Adam, who had been observing Moira, finally withdrew his gaze.
"A very clever woman. She didn't waste energy on meaningless resistance. She even instinctively began reining in her thoughts, hiding her desire for freedom while looking for opportunities to escape my control."
Adam silently assessed the reincarnated Moira with great interest, treating her entirely like a novel toy.
If he weren't worried about breaking her, he would already be conducting all sorts of detailed experiments.
As for Moira's desire to escape and her efforts to suppress those thoughts so they wouldn't arise… Adam could only shrug and wish the girl luck.
Once you had been a Xenomorph long enough, you stayed one forever. Suppress your thoughts too hard, and you'd simply accept the reality.
Adam's attention soon shifted away from Moira. He had a preliminary plan for how to use her, but that wasn't the priority right now. Dispatching Xenomorph forces to strike everywhere and capture as many vampires as possible was far more important. He needed to mobilize more troops for the off-world battlefield.
"Six hundred Frost Giant captives is acceptable for now. But capturing even more during the final battle would be ideal."
While absorbing magical knowledge from Kamar-Taj like a sponge, Adam also coveted the divine power of the World Tree.
"Magic is on track, but divine power is lagging. I need to accelerate progress this time."
Adam felt he needed to assemble another massive army. This time he planned to head to the stars personally and bring Deathstrike along.
Where would the troops come from? Naturally, it was time to make the vampires suffer a bit more.
The vampires who had barely fled New York, thinking they could rely on their accumulated wealth to live like kings in other cities while feeding on humans, were soon struck like lightning by another wave of Xenomorph assaults.
Deathstrike continued serving as Adam's personal bodyguard, always wearing her expressionless face and maintaining deathly silence.
Others... such as Druid, Reynolds, and the mutants Adam had taken from Stryker who had lost their sense of self and were now controlled by the Xenomorph embryos in their chests... each led teams and set out at high speed.
"Why? Why us? What did we ever do to Adam? Why are we being targeted again and again? Are we really that important to the Xenomorphs? Do they absolutely need us?? There are so many races in the world, so many human criminals... why are we vampires always the ones who suffer the worst?"
The vampires asked these questions repeatedly, but no one answered. The Xenomorphs didn't negotiate. They only searched and captured, doing everything possible to prevent the vampires from even having a chance to commit suicide.
For a time, the entire continent was thrown into chaos. But most people cheered the operation. After all, vampires were genuinely despised by everyone.
"The number of vampires is already low. Oh well, we'll have to make do with some ordinary creatures to fill the ranks."
Adam kept track of each Xenomorph team's progress and could only shake his head helplessly in the end.
It was a shame that vampires only felt scarce when you needed them. If only there were an entire vampire planet somewhere in the cosmos.
Given Adam's current status, the power he had displayed in driving back Dormammu, and his connection to the Sorcerer Supreme, this operation once again drew worldwide attention.
Some civilian vampire hunters even actively guided Xenomorphs straight to vampire hideouts both large and small.
"He's expanding his forces again. The war on the front lines must be intense… I almost forgot that Adam just finished one battle on Earth while advancing another elsewhere."
"Or maybe Adam's patience is running out. He's decided to head to Asgard personally for a decisive battle against the aliens."
"I don't know who Asgard's enemies are, but they have my pity. Maybe from the very start of the war, they never expected their toughest opponent would turn out to be Adam."
While the purge of vampires proceeded in an orderly fashion, Adam also began capturing animals for parasitism to rapidly expand his army's scale.
Every day, the number of Xenomorphs under his command grew quickly.
At this juncture, Mordo arrived.
Crackle!
A circle of sparks and electricity opened a golden portal at the entrance of the Weyland Building. Mordo stepped through with a solemn expression, ignoring the stunned gazes around him. Without a word, he walked straight into the building.
"I know you can hear me. Choosing to walk in from outside rather than appearing directly before you is my show of courtesy," Mordo said.
The next second, a passing Xenomorph nodded to him. Mordo didn't hesitate. He opened another portal and appeared in front of Adam.
"Quite the rare visitor. Why didn't the Ancient One come herself? Or did you come without her permission?" Adam asked.
Mordo's face remained serious. "The Sorcerer Supreme is constantly vigilant against all extra-dimensional threats and has no time to waste. I have considerable autonomy in day-to-day matters. Kamar-Taj doesn't operate under the same rigid hierarchy as you do."
"Rigid? It seems we have very different understandings of the phrase 'orders must be obeyed.' I never interfere with my subordinates' private actions… But never mind. I'm not a scholar and won't debate management theories with you."
Adam looked at the sorcerer with interest.
"You've launched a full-scale assault on vampires worldwide. Correct?"
"Correct. But this is a mundane-world matter. You're not even the Sorcerer Supreme. Why get involved?"
"I won't. As long as it only involves vampires, I have no interest... even if you wipe them all out, it won't destabilize Earth."
Mordo hesitated, seeming unsure how to phrase it. "But not all vampires are the same. Some are extremely troublesome…"
For a moment, Adam thought Mordo had come to plead on behalf of Stick.
Adam had already left Stick's matter entirely to Elektra. Whatever she and Daredevil decided to do with their former mentor who had become a vampire, Adam wouldn't interfere.
He wasn't someone with an overwhelming need for control. He didn't treat people like pieces in a Lego set, demanding every button he pressed be executed at all times.
Adam thought for a moment. "You mean Dracula? To be blunt, the vampires are looking for him, and so am I. I hear the guy is nearly unkillable. He might be perfect for me."
"Not Dracula. I don't know where he's sleeping. The vampires I'm talking about aren't from our universe." Mordo's voice deepened. "If you hadn't helped the Sorcerer Supreme drive back Dormammu, I would have taken this secret to my grave."
Vampires from another universe?
Adam's expression shifted. Just those words brought many possibilities to mind.
Mordo continued, "But these extra-universal vampires are strange. They appeared suddenly, attacked a human, and withdrew quickly before we could react."
At that, Adam knew exactly who Mordo meant.
"The dead human was Peter Parker? A friend of the Osborn heir?"
"You know about that?" Mordo was genuinely surprised.
Adam's expression turned odd. No wonder. No wonder Spider-Man had died before even properly debuting. He had been targeted and eliminated by the Inheritors... the family that wandered the multiverse hunting Spider-Totems.
The Inheritors were a notorious multiversal vampire family that fed specifically on Spider-Men.
Each time they killed one, they absorbed the spider-totem power within, growing stronger.
The more Spider-Men they killed, the more powerful the family became. They were the number-one nemesis of every Spider-Man across the multiverse... far more dangerous than any Sinister Six.
Adam considered warning Mordo that the Inheritors weren't ordinary vampires. If anything, they were vampires that specifically drank Spider-Man blood. But he decided it wasn't necessary.
"Aren't your duties supposed to include monitoring all activity from other worlds? Why couldn't you stop those vampires immediately?" Adam asked.
Mordo shook his head, looking displeased. He hated any questioning of the Sorcerer Supreme. "You think the Sorcerer Supreme is omniscient and omnipotent? Or that she can instantly detect every tiny change and has infinite avatars to dispatch across the world to investigate every anomaly at once?"
It was impossible. The Sorcerer Supreme was merely a powerful person. She couldn't be everywhere or do everything.
"Besides, those vampires were well-trained. Each individual was extremely powerful. They struck a normal person quickly, then withdrew the moment they sensed something. What would you have done? Risk everything to breach the boundaries of our universe, chase them down, and kill them one by one?"
"If I were strong enough, yes, that's what I would do."
Adam's dead-serious reply nearly made Mordo spit blood. He wondered if he shouldn't have come at all, or bothered warning Adam about these special vampires.
"I came to warn you because I'm not sure whether our universe's vampires have any connection to those from other worlds. I still haven't figured out why they targeted that high-schooler named Peter Parker. All I can do is make sure you aren't caught completely unaware if they attack."
With that, Mordo pulled up his hood and prepared to leave.
"Regardless, thank you, Master Mordo. You've cleared up a major question for me. Your actions today may very well help me one day in the future," Adam said earnestly.
Mordo's expression softened slightly. He stepped through the portal and vanished.
"So this universe has already been visited by the Inheritors… and they succeeded…"
Since the local Spider-Man had died so early, it made sense that when the multiverse's many Spider-Men later formed an army to fight the Inheritors, this universe wasn't part of it. With no Spider-Man, how could it earn a dedicated universe designation from outsiders?
"The Inheritors' patriarch can defeat the most powerful Captain Universe Spider-Man head-on. They're strong, but not unbeatable."
Adam stroked his chin. After thinking it over, he quickly issued orders to several Xenomorphs. They raced through Queens, searching for Peter Parker's body.
Originally, Adam hadn't cared much about whether Spider-Man lived or died. The multiverse had too many accidents; one dead Spider-Man was hardly earth-shattering. But since the Inheritors were involved, he changed his mind.
He could ignore ordinary Spider-Men, but he couldn't ignore the Inheritors.
"I wonder if it'll work…" The thought flashed through Adam's mind. Everything depended on whether they could find Peter Parker's remains. He guessed that in this universe, the young man had been bitten by the spider, awakened his powers, and then been devoured by the waiting Inheritors.
The timeframe was too short, so he probably hadn't mastered the "shedding" ability. He was likely dead for good.
Time passed.
After assembling an army of over ten thousand, Adam contacted Heimdall.
The brilliant Bifrost descended from the sky again and again, appearing frequently like neon lights in the night. Bursts of light jumped wildly between different locations.
Each flash caused a group of Xenomorphs to vanish into thin air, transported to Asgard.
But Adam still felt the numbers were insufficient. Maybe he should parasitize more mammals and breed a large batch of carrier Xenomorphs to support the battlefield.
Even ordinary Xenomorphs had astonishing adaptability. Fighting on harsh alien planets posed no real difficulty.
At times like these, Adam couldn't help sighing. There were still too few vampires. The Inheritors were collectively strong and currently missing... off hunting Spider-Men happily in some other universe. They weren't suitable hosts.
The frequent activations of the Bifrost had become a striking sight, drawing countless eyes.
"Hello. I had no idea Weyland Corporation had started offering sightseeing tours. Keep this up and tourists from all over the world will come pay admission. You'll make a fortune. What a brilliant business idea."
Tony Stark called Adam, speaking in his usual tone.
"I'm busy, Tony. If you're just calling to show off your new armor, there's really no need," Adam replied.
"Ha, you guessed it. That's partly why I called. My Mark X is complete. It's made from specialized materials I developed myself, with some components reinforced with adamantium... the natural enemy of Xenomorphs." A gulping sound came from Tony's end. He was clearly drinking while talking.
"I already have over ten thousand Xenomorphs. Soon it'll be twenty thousand. So tell me, Tony Stark... how many suits of armor do you have? Thirty thousand? Thirty thousand suits capable of resisting Xenomorph blood?"
Tony fell silent for a moment. He pictured the overwhelming swarm and then recalled the magnificent scene of Adam and the Ancient One fighting together.
He didn't know how many generations of upgrades it would take to create armor with that kind of power.
"Anyway, I'm calling to invite you to a party. Just close friends. Remember? Last time when Sentry went after Magneto, I promised I'd throw one," Tony said.
A party.
A common social activity in everyday life, but an extremely rare occurrence for Adam. He glanced at the still-transporting Xenomorph legions and agreed, heading out to attend.
An entire floor of Stark Tower had been converted into a large banquet hall. Adam entered with his Xenomorph.
Of course, Tony had invited a few others, including a visibly nervous War Machine.
"Tony, I keep feeling like these things could attack us at any moment. It's too dangerous. I have to stay suited up and ready for the worst."
"Then you're being overly cautious. I bet you'll go home and crash right after the party ends."
Tony looked around. He hadn't even invited the other Avengers. The proud billionaire simply lacked confidence in... and interest in... his teammates.
He'd rather spend the time observing the Xenomorphs. Who knew? He might get more inspiration for anti-Xenomorph armor.
As time passed and more alcohol flowed, the ordinary guests grew increasingly intoxicated.
Even the blaring alarm in the hall didn't make Tony react immediately.
But the deafening explosion was real. It sent a slight tremor through the entire banquet floor.
No one expected any lunatic to be crazy enough to attack here... especially not with the risk of being fed to the Xenomorphs immediately. Even Tony himself hadn't bothered preparing a detailed contingency plan for an assault at an event like this. Whatever happened, he should instantly don his armor and unleash a barrage of high-tech weapons to turn the provocateurs into slag.
Adam sat calmly at the bar, looking down at the dozen or so wine glasses before him. In a leisurely mood, he had filled each with a different fine liquor.
"In my time, even the richest upstarts wouldn't drink like this. Even wine tasting doesn't require filling every glass to the brim. It's too wasteful."
A gaunt man in a voluminous cloak approached Adam and offered his critique.
Adam glanced at him casually. "I'm not interested in alcohol. I'd rather drink several pots of hot water in the time it takes to drink wine. And you... I doubt you're very interested in alcohol either."
"Correct. My preference is blood... especially the blood of powerful beings. Drinking it makes me stronger and satisfies me on a spiritual level."
The gaunt middle-aged man smiled cruelly. He gestured seriously at the glasses on the table. "If these cups were filled with the blood of different creatures, the sheer fullness would delight me."
"Such as? The powerful beings you mentioned? My Xenomorphs? That's quite the application ritual. This cup's on me."
Adam remained expressionless. He tore a bloody chunk of flesh from his own chest to serve as a container, sprinkled it with highly corrosive blood, and handed it to the man.
"I'm guessing you're Dracula, right? Those desperate survivors realized the dark sorcerers were completely unreliable, so they finally dug you up? Come on... drink this bowl of Xenomorph blood. If you don't, I'll grab your head and force it down your throat. It'll make you even stronger."
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