Loki stared blankly at Knowhere, his mind, a Yggdrasil trickster god's, swirling with fleeting thoughts that vanished as quickly as they came.
What now? Follow Knull's orders and rush to attack Earth? That'd end badly, catastrophically so. He wouldn't even have time to rally other notorious cosmic factions to use as cannon fodder.
"To turn Earth into a symbiote-infested planet like Klyntar, I'd need a massive number of symbiotes. They'd spread across the globe, and after absorbing enough energy, they could self-reproduce, spawning new symbiotes." Loki mused.
After a long pause, with no alternatives, he devised a battle plan.
From his recent interactions, Loki had gauged Knull's temperament. The Cosmic Being was a brutal, cold-blooded, selfish tyrant, undeniably powerful, absurdly so. Loki paid lip service to serving Knull, vowing to help him reclaim his body and peak power, but in truth, he had no intention of following through.
His real goal was to seize more symbiotes, mastering their glaring flaws and leveraging their equally glaring strengths to command this remarkable species.
"Adam's Xenomorphs are already spreading through the universe. Soon, they'll multiply geometrically across star systems. Great Lord Knull, trust me, I know Adam well. He either doesn't act, or he acts with meticulous preparation, crafting intricate, mind-boggling plans to handle any contingency. But he'd never expect us to send a massive symbiote army to assault his home planet." Loki said, eyes glinting with greed as he surveyed the symbiotes cocooning him against the cosmic vacuum. His voice dripped with sincerity: "I need greater authority to control the symbiotes. You know my talents, and I'm intimately familiar with Earth."
Knull agreed instantly.
To put it bluntly, symbiotes were mere byproducts of Knull's Necrosword, forged from the Abyss. To him, they were mass-produced tools, meant to obey. Their betrayal, imprisoning his body and causing his downfall, justified their slaughter in his eyes.
Knull's mental state was wildly unstable. Over eons, he'd faced setbacks, but those were from Celestial ambushes, and even then, they didn't dare push him too far. Now? These mongrel symbiotes caged his form, and Earth's lowly creatures, Adam among them, trampled his consciousness, defiling a Cosmic Being's dignity.
"Great god, I know what to do. Soon, Earth will be a symbiote world, every human parasitized, just as Adam plans to seed Xenomorphs across the cosmos, infesting every race." Loki said, bowing low in feigned reverence. For a master of deception, groveling before power carried no shame. Only his face betrayed occasional flickers of sly amusement.
He'd imagined clashing with Adam again, steeling himself for centuries, even millennia, of struggle, convinced an "Earthling" like Adam couldn't lack such longevity. In Loki's mind, a body was a disposable shell for someone like Adam, easily replaced with a younger, more potent vessel when worn out.
But he hadn't expected to face Adam so soon.
"Xenomorphs here mean Adam's gaze has reached Knowhere… Once again, you're a step ahead. But how will you handle this? So many symbiotes, no matter your strength, unless you obliterate Earth itself, you can't stop their invasion." Loki said, a manic glint in his eyes.
Don't misunderstand, his fervor wasn't aimed at Adam. Truth be told, he held no deep grudge against him. Their biggest clash was when Loki tried to kill Adam during Thor's initial Earth arrival, enraged by Thor's parasitization. He'd failed, repelled by Adam (wielding Mjolnir) and Magneto, achieving nothing.
But this time… Loki figured it was time to think of himself. His ambition wouldn't let him remain Knull's lackey forever, Cosmic Being or not.
"Capture a Xenomorph? Maybe you could use symbiotes to steal their genes, like Adam did with your symbiotes." Loki murmured, but Knull didn't respond.
At Loki's command, the symbiote horde retreated like a receding tide, abandoning the invasion of Knowhere. He didn't care that a few were captured by Knowhere's lawless denizens, eagerly debating their black-market value.
Soon, he'd unleash millions, tens of millions, of symbiotes to rampage the cosmos, with Knull to take the blame. Why fuss over a handful of stragglers?
In Knowhere, villains from across the universe sighed in relief, watching the black ooze retreat. They'd feared the enemy's numbers would grow with every kill, inexhaustible.
"What are these slimy, shapeless things? They're alive but lack any organs, a completely alien species." One thug muttered.
"I want to know who lured them here. Don't they know Knowhere's the Collector's turf? How dare they pick a fight with us pirates, bounty hunters, and mercs!" Another growled.
"Haven't you figured it out? The Collector hasn't shown his face. He has to know about this ruckus. That means these things have a heavy hitter backing them, too heavy for the Collector to touch." A third said.
"Heh, doesn't that mean they're worth a fortune? We're rich!" A fourth cackled.
Yondu's Ravagers watched the crowd coldly. They knew killing symbiotes was futile, they'd seen them form an entire planet. These were just a tiny fraction.
"Yondu, we lost two more. Least losses yet." Krug said grimly, unsure whether to be relieved or mournful.
Yondu counted carefully, noting over a dozen Xenomorphs had fallen. The survivors radiated a chilling, unapproachable menace. Opportunists edged closer, pointing and whispering intel, their sharp instincts catching on. The Xenomorphs' alien forms and numbers screamed "species." Sparking shocked recognition in some.
A few villains, familiar with Yondu, even approached to chat.
"Xenomorphs… are these the Xenomorphs? The ones said to have conquered a world?" A villain whispered.
"Hiss! Just one glance sends shivers down my spine, yet there's a lethal beauty to them. I can't stop staring." Another muttered.
"Rumor has it this newly risen species is insanely powerful, capable of seizing a world in a single campaign, capturing scores of Frost Giants. And now they're in Knowhere? I wouldn't bat an eye at a few Asgardians showing up, but Xenomorphs?" A third said, incredulous.
The sheer number was a subtle, intriguing signal, did it mean their master aimed to expand into the cosmos?
Truth be told, in these rogues' eyes, Adam and his Xenomorph horde had every right to rampage through the universe, establishing a dominant force, claiming star systems, and acting with impunity. Ruling vast swathes of space was well within their grasp.
After all, they were a high-tier species backed by an Allfather-level powerhouse. Even the Elders of the Universe or certain Celestials were merely Allfather-tier beings. Most such entities were either the sole survivors of extinct ancient races or singular, unique lifeforms. A species with a potent collective, like the Xenomorphs, was exceedingly rare.
That's why Yggdrasil pantheons with Allfather-tier champions, like Asgard, commanded universal respect, untouchable to most factions.
"How the hell did you recruit these Xenomorphs? Damn it, I want a squad of these badasses in my crew!" A thug barked.
"Shut it, moron. You think you compare to me? It's about strength, got it? I've got the clout to hire these Xenomorphs, you don't." Yondu shot back, whistling to guide his Yaka Arrow toward the scheming onlookers.
He projected calm confidence, but inside, he was a wreck. He feared the lead Xenomorphs might turn on them, taking the rest of the pack with them. Krug brought them, but that didn't mean he controlled them. Yondu was confident in his ability to clear hordes of enemies, but the lead Xenomorphs gave him a gut-deep sense of danger. In the earlier fight, any one of them displayed strength that left him rattled.
"Quill! Where are you, you punk? Get over here and help with our new allies!" Yondu bellowed, scanning for Star-Lord.
But Quill was gone, vanished in the earlier chaos. And a chunk of the Xenomorphs had slipped away too.
"Don't bother. I saw Quill whispering to one of the lead Xenomorphs, then he took off with a group of them. He's probably gone for good. You know he's been itching to go solo." Krug said.
"What? That bastard! Treating his foster dad like this? I should've let someone eat him years ago." Yondu fumed.
…
What the Xenomorphs saw, Adam saw.
The brief, fierce clash in Knowhere reached Adam's awareness in full.
"Didn't expect my Xenomorphs to tangle with symbiotes again so soon. No wonder Krug was in such a rush. Anyone targeted by those dangerous symbiotes would be in deep trouble… Knull's not exactly a forgiving god." Adam said, nodding with a dawning realization.
Knull must've been deeply provoked. Barely any time had passed since his escape from Earth, yet he'd already seized a symbiote contingent and sprung into action.
"No telling how strong this universe's Knull is. If he's like the mainline Knull, capable of one-shotting the Sentry at Owen Reece's peak, we'd need a long-term strategy." Adam thought.
Even if not as absurdly overpowering as the mainline Knull, a peak Knull in this universe would still rank among the cosmos' elite, outclassed only by Cosmic Beings like the Celestials. Most critically, Knull was nearly unkillable, drawing endless vitality from the Abyss within him.
A god sustained by a world, revered by countless symbiotes, Knull was that audacious.
"Judging by the symbiotes' assault on Knowhere, it started normally, just harvesting hosts. But once Xenomorphs joined the fray, the symbiotes went berserk, charging like mad. When they couldn't break through, they slowly retreated." Adam noted.
He could almost picture Knull's apoplectic rage. His crafted symbiote race, subjugated by Adam's Xenomorphs.
Adam's eyes hardened with resolve. Time to prepare for the worst.
Knull was no Dormammu, nor comparable to the likes of Laufey. A war with him would be a species-level conflict, escalating rapidly with staggering troop commitments.
Unless Adam cared nothing for Earth, obliterating the planet, and the invading symbiotes, into cosmic dust.
Adam's thoughts turned to the infamous Symbiote Universe of the multiverse.
In that reality, everything was parasitized by symbiotes. On Earth, every living human, without exception, was a symbiote host. The symbiotes on Klyntar numbered beyond calculation, spawning offspring until their sheer volume rendered singular counts meaningless.
"I'd planned to wait longer, but there's no need now… It's time to launch the Xenomorphs' global expansion, preparing for the worst." Adam decided.
Sensing carefully, he confirmed Krug was upholding his end, opening multiple portals to scatter Xenomorphs across various planets. Some unlucky Xenomorphs were spotted by native lifeforms and killed in ambushes, but most reached alien worlds, immediately seeking cover, hunting for food, and quietly undergoing metamorphosis.
This ensured Adam had a fallback, no matter what came. Only a multiversal deity, waging war across realities and casually obliterating his universe, could thwart him, an outcome so helpless it'd leave him speechless.
With Adam's command, Xenomorphs hidden worldwide sprang into action. In South America's rainforests, the Middle East's endless deserts, Antarctica's icy wastes… Xenomorphs emerged, rapidly evolving into Queens, frantically laying eggs to swell their numbers, using every moment and resource.
Early in this expansion, their movements remained covert. Earth had countless uninhabited regions, and until the Xenomorph population hit critical mass, few noticed. Even those who glimpsed swarms mistook them for Adam orchestrating another large-scale hunt, cautiously steering clear.
But a rare few, extraordinary individuals, detected Earth's shifting tides.
The first to confront Adam was the Ancient One.
"Planning a world war?" She asked bluntly.
"Something like that. We may face a massive enemy force soon. Their individual strength isn't great, but their numbers are vast, and their resilience is stubborn. To protect Earth, the best defense is matching numbers with numbers." Adam replied.
Barring a willingness to obliterate the planet, countering a numerous species was daunting.
"Symbiotes? So, the god behind them is coming for Earth? The one controlling Grendel?" The Ancient One pressed.
Adam paused, then said, "Not certain yet. At minimum, I need to brace for a symbiote army. I hope I'm overthinking this, wasting effort. If I'm wrong, Krug can work overtime, ferrying these new Xenomorphs across the cosmos."
The Ancient One fell silent. Perhaps she sensed that, enemy or not, Adam would proceed, driven to hunt superior hosts among the stars, a goal inevitable for someone like him.
More than that, she harbored faint regret. Had she noticed Knull sooner, she could've siphoned some of his power, weakening him decisively.
As time passed, the Xenomorph population surged at an accelerating pace. Each additional ten thousand required less time. When their numbers broke one hundred thousand, nearing two hundred thousand, their daily need for massive meat supplies forced them to hunt widely, exposing them to more observers.
Panic erupted. Some screamed of doomsday, claiming Adam, the devil, had finally bared his fangs, turning Earth into his slaughterhouse, with humanity as fodder for Xenomorph production.
"Why didn't we join that Xenomorph Cult in Hell's Kitchen, under that pastor, Burbank, and seek the devil's protection?" They wailed.
But for every terrified soul, more were ecstatic, cheering wildly that a new era dawned, a world of universal superhumans, cleansing the old society's exploitation and oppression, granting rebirth to the suffering.
They frantically sought Xenomorphs, desperate to be parasitized, craving the zero-cost leap to superhumanity. Overzealous fools provoked Xenomorphs and were killed on the spot, their bloody fates sobering some arrogant types. They realized, as mere humans, they owed respect to power until transformed.
Ordinary folk fared better, avoiding Xenomorphs meant avoiding attacks.
More troubled were the leaders of various factions. Their worst fear, the Xenomorph Cataclysm, was taking shape under Adam's reckless actions. Once, they'd dreaded that killing Adam would unleash hidden Xenomorphs worldwide, who'd breed uncontrollably, using countless airborne and aquatic creatures as hosts. Humanity would struggle to curb, let alone eradicate, the surging swarms.
Thus, even someone like Fury leaned toward defeating and indefinitely imprisoning Adam, at least until a reliable means to control Xenomorphs was secured.
But that was a land-dweller's panic.
The ocean-dwellers were losing it.
Where on Earth teemed with the most life, the greatest biodiversity? Not rainforests, but the oceans. Atlanteans watched in horror as Xenomorphs prowled the seas, hunting and parasitizing with abandon, their sanity fraying.
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