For Tony, very few things in life felt truly satisfying anymore.
"I'm the infinitely charming Tony Stark, the smartest man on the planet. I refuse to be dragged down by a bunch of nobodies."
Tony was extremely proud. He took immense satisfaction in his superhuman intellect and inexhaustible creativity.
Just look at his progress: in a little over a year, he had already iterated the Mark armor twelve times and secretly developed several specialized suits tailored for threats like Magneto.
Oh, and he had just burned through one of those specialized suits dealing with the Hulk.
"You're awake. My anti-Hulk armor is practically in pieces. How do you plan to compensate me?"
Thor looked impatiently at the disheveled middle-aged man before him.
"I thought that in this little playgroup we call a team, you were the only one who could actually keep up with me. As a human, your sky-high intellect could assist my research. As a monster, your raw power could step up when it mattered. But I never imagined that after turning into a monster, you'd come after me! The Avengers have barely gotten started and we're already having a civil war. Fantastic! The whole world is laughing at us!"
Tony raised his voice. "Have you considered that we haven't even stepped onto a real battlefield yet? We haven't faced truly terrifying enemies. We haven't even encountered basic telepaths. Imagine someone like Professor X invading your mind. How long could you hold out? The second you turn into the Hulk, you'd come swinging at me again!"
Dr. Banner lifted his head, eyes bloodshot. He fought to control his breathing and suppress the rising anger in his chest.
His wrist device had been lost during the fight, so he couldn't monitor his condition, but he could already hear the Hulk's roars echoing inside his skull.
"Stop acting so self-righteous, Iron Man. It's not like I can control the Hulk. We're not even the same person."
"Then find a way to become the same person."
"That's impossible. I've tried countless times... even put a gun to my own head. But every time I wake up, I just see a flattened bullet on the floor and the surrounding area completely trashed."
"Oh, what a tragedy. When you say you've 'tried countless times,' you mean those drug experiments with that Mr. Sinister guy from Weyland Tower? The ones that created Abomination and a whole bunch of Hulk-derived monsters? Of course, they're all Xenomorphs now. Teaming up with a third-rate scientist... how courageous of you." Tony mocked without restraint.
Ever since joining the Avengers, his temper had grown shorter. These repeated crises kept breaking through his defenses.
How could the proud Iron Man accept becoming a background character on this planet... reduced to nothing more than a source of ideas and funding?
Look at the world now: vampires, sorcerers, gods, demon gods, dragons… It had all gone completely insane.
Dr. Banner gave a cold laugh. If he had any choice, he wanted to kill the Hulk inside him more than anyone. He had never wanted to join S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers. He had been forced into it from the start.
Now, Banner found himself reconsidering his future once again. Since gods and demon gods existed in this world, it stood to reason that something capable of permanently dealing with the Hulk would appear eventually.
"Maybe my previous approach was wrong. I shouldn't keep trying to solve the Hulk problem through technology alone. Perhaps it's time to explore the mystical side." Banner thought that, in that case, staying with S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't the worst option. Once he found a way to suppress or permanently eliminate the Hulk, he could leave this cursed place.
At that moment, Tony received a notification from Jarvis... Nick Fury was trying to reach him.
"Director, I don't think there's anything left to discuss. I'm already in the process of leaving the Avengers. Your leadership is absolutely terrible." Tony continued working at his workbench, assembling a mechanical arm while complaining.
He had no choice but to work overtime upgrading his technology just to keep pace with this rapidly escalating mad world.
Fury's eyes were also bloodshot. His desk was buried under stacks of accountability reports, and people were constantly trying to contact him, demanding to know what the hell was going on.
The symbiote dragon's escape had caused an absolute uproar. Unlike previous incidents involving alien gods, this one had erupted from inside Earth and had no connection to Adam or the mutants. The blame naturally fell squarely on Fury.
"But you can't guarantee that leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support will make everything better. If it doesn't improve, then what's the point of leaving?" Fury kept his expression blank. "This isn't over. We've collected a large number of symbiotes that fell from the dragon."
"Those were the ones the female Thor knocked off. Adam's people didn't want them," Banner cut in, his voice thick with barely contained rage. He sounded like he could transform into the Hulk at any second.
"Symbiotes are far more special than you imagine. Otherwise, why do you think I insisted on restarting the program? The old symbiote super-soldier initiative had widespread support."
Nick Fury had no choice but to reveal the details of the old program to these two key members.
It was classified information.
Both Tony and Banner were brilliant geniuses. They only needed to read through it once to memorize everything. They finished quickly and fell silent.
"Surprised, aren't you? Every piece of data you just saw was built on countless lives lost during the last century." Fury spoke coldly. "Don't try to bind me with morality. You two should understand better than anyone that people like me can have almost anything... except empathy."
"So what do you want? You expect me to turn these symbiotes into some kind of symbiote armor? Sounds like a great idea, except they erode the brain. I refuse." Tony looked disgusted. He specialized in mechanical engineering and had never considered building living biological armor.
More importantly, suddenly switching to an entirely new field would consume a massive amount of his time... and time was exactly what he lacked most. No matter how high his intellect or how easily he could design cutting-edge technology, turning blueprints into physical reality took time that couldn't be skipped.
"It would be armor, but not the kind you're imagining." Fury hesitated noticeably... a rare sight for such a decisive spymaster.
Clearly, he was weighing whether to reveal even more classified information to these two brilliant minds.
In the end, he held back. Releasing that would have the most direct and devastating impact on the world.
In some ways, it would be even more troublesome than Dormammu, who had never actually reached Earth.
"With your combined intelligence, solving the symbiotes' brain-erosion problem shouldn't be difficult. I need your help."
Fury spoke gravely. "Symbiotes can enhance the power of any organic lifeform without restriction. Conversely, if used properly, they can also limit organic power. For example, they could help suppress the Hulk. Handling the Hulk alone is difficult, but with an additional symbiote assisting you, it might become manageable."
"And if it goes wrong? The Hulk could become even stronger through the symbiote's power," Banner countered.
"Do you have any other options? From our observations, the Hulk is growing too. Right now it's like an eight-year-old child. If you can't control it now, you'll have even less chance in the future. Eventually you'll disappear and become part of the Hulk."
Tony and Banner ultimately decided to trust Fury one last time.
"I'll arrange for a team of elite agents to use the symbiotes. We also need to assemble the best scientists and doctors to prepare for any aftereffects of bonding and resolve them as quickly as possible." Fury said.
"I don't trust the doctors and agents you'd bring in. I'd rather find them myself. Basically neurologists and brain specialists, right? Maybe throw in a few psychologists? I know someone... Dr. Stephen Strange at a hospital in Philadelphia."
Banner suddenly spoke up. "When I was trying to solve the Hulk problem at the biological level, I secretly reviewed many people's records... that's how I got in touch with Mr. Sinister. From what I know, this Dr. Strange is a highly skilled neurologist with impressive expertise in the field."
"Never heard of him. Trust me, S.H.I.E.L.D. has the best doctors in the world. We don't need you bringing in some average guy." Fury replied.
Tony barely held back his impatience... or rather, anxiety. He would rather spend the conversation time on research. This discussion had already cost him enough time to crack one technological barrier. "Just so we're clear, this is the last time. If you can't deliver something that satisfies me, I'm leaving the team without hesitation. This is wasting my valuable time, because you haven't delivered on your original promise of building a super-team capable of saving the world."
"It won't fail. This time it absolutely will not fail." Fury's voice was low.
He knew that once Adam gained control of the symbiote dragon, it wouldn't be long before large numbers of symbiotes became part of Adam's armed forces.
Adam had an extraordinary talent for efficiently utilizing resources.
The man was terrifying. He always managed to draw nourishment from every crisis, growing at a pace that left everyone stunned.
No one like Adam had ever appeared on Earth before. There were no precedents to reference. Sometimes Fury felt genuine pain over it... why did he have to encounter someone like this after taking over S.H.I.E.L.D.?
"For the next period of time, we will devote all our resources to defense. We must keep a close eye on Adam and prevent him from doing anything crazy with the symbiotes. He already dealt with the vampires. There's no telling who he'll target next. I don't believe he'll stop expanding his race. He will definitely continue searching for new, high-quality hosts."
Fury's usually expressionless face finally cracked, revealing deep exhaustion and mental strain.
Honestly, as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury still had a few cards left to play. The problem was that every one came with massive implications or severe drawbacks, and it was unclear which could truly solve the trouble someone like Adam represented.
After Fury ended the call, Steve had been waiting for some time.
"Captain, I assume you didn't come to chat," Fury said.
"My strength is still too weak. Having ideals without the power to realize them is worthless. No wonder Stark is fed up with working with us." Steve gripped his shield tightly, a trace of dejection on his face.
Captain America had realized the world had changed beyond recognition. It was nothing like what he understood. This old soldier really did seem outdated. Dealing with ordinary super-criminals was manageable, but against enemies capable of destroying cities or crossing planets, he was completely outmatched.
"So you want to increase your power. That's difficult. Your body has already been enhanced by the super-soldier serum. How exactly do you plan to improve further? Should I give you a Mark armor like Tony Stark's?"
As he spoke, something seemed to occur to Fury. His expression shifted slightly before returning to normal as he looked meaningfully at Captain America.
"If anyone else said it was impossible, I might believe them. But not from you. Tell me... what do I need to do to become stronger?" Steve gripped his shield even tighter.
Fury paused for a moment. "Since you've made up your mind, I hope you can bear the consequences of failure. You might end up completely shattered."
Steve let out a heavy breath. Instead of worry, he looked like he had renewed his sense of purpose. "Is the method you're talking about the same one you promised Tony and the others?"
"No. These are two different paths... the last two unused chips I hold. If both fail, there's no doubt this planet will lose S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection. S.H.I.E.L.D. will have no reason to exist."
At that point, whether Adam, the mutants, or any alien invaders came, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be powerless.
"The Tesseract?"
"Correct. Nothing is more suitable for you. But I can't guarantee success. It might tear you apart completely. Of course, success is also possible."
"I'm fully prepared. We can begin immediately," Steve said firmly.
"Not yet. You're ready, but I'm not. There are still some preliminary steps I need to take."
Fury stood up. After entering a string of codes on a holographic screen, someone soon delivered a classified file.
"There's a mission I need you to complete. Go find this person and bring him back." Fury said.
Steve quickly read through the file.
"Eugene 'Flash' Thompson? One of the executors of the symbiote super-soldier program, a retired veteran agent? Are you sure he didn't develop an antisocial personality after being bonded with a symbiote?" Steve frowned.
He already understood how dangerous symbiotes were.
"After years of observation, his condition is relatively stable. Aside from being older and having a more volatile temper, there haven't been other major changes. For the new symbiote project, he's a suitable leader. We're currently short on capable personnel."
Steve nodded and left immediately. He would find this Flash Thompson as quickly as possible and bring him in.
…
Every media outlet in the world was talking about Grendel and the female Thor.
Open the internet and you'd find experts and scholars appearing on every program, pontificating with ridiculous displays and seriously analyzing the impact of the event while spreading absurd so-called insider information.
Walk down any street and every newspaper's front page discussed the same topic.
"Mysterious Female Thor's True Identity Revealed... It's Her!"
"Modern Beauty and the Beast!"
"Disaster Warning: The Matter Falling from the Dragon Appears to Be Alive."
Flash Thompson stepped out of his home. Everywhere he looked, people were talking about the same thing. Some bored idiots were even coming to blows over whose opinion was right or wrong.
He casually sidestepped a stumbling fool who had been punched. Thompson's rock-hard, stern face showed no change as he suppressed his negative emotions.
He knew exactly what that dragon was. Years ago, he had joined the symbiote super-soldier program and earned a symbiote through outstanding performance.
It had been a nightmare. The symbiote permanently altered his thinking, making him impulsive and quick to anger. Flash Thompson was deeply aware of how much he had changed.
"I never expected them to revive the program that was confirmed a failure and sealed away. And now even the symbiote source... the dragon... has gone out of control! What lunatics. Putting a madman in charge of a mad plan to create even more madmen…"
Thompson pushed down his inner irritation. None of this concerned him anymore. He wasn't like the Punisher, driven by near-obsessive ideas of justice.
He planned to go home and continue living as an ordinary person.
Thompson returned to Hell's Kitchen.
It was a terrible place. In a neighborhood where crime and murder were commonplace, the blood-soaked Thompson felt that his low-key lifestyle made him practically a lovable angel.
At that moment, commotion erupted from a deep alley ahead. A crowd had gathered, blocking the road and forcing him to stop.
"Another gang holding a group drug party?"
Thompson frowned, originally planning to go around. If not for the cheap rent and chaotic environment of Hell's Kitchen... perfect for hiding his identity among the riffraff... he really wouldn't bother with these small-time scum.
But the next words he heard made him change his mind.
"The Xenomorph Cult is the future of the world! The fall of the dark dragon is the greatest warning to the world. Join the cult! Worship the Xenomorphs and escape the suffering and despair of this mortal realm!"
^^^
If you'd like to read up to 50 chapters ahead, feel free to visit our patron: pat reon . com/XElenea