Chapter 20: Mystique Discovers the Truth
Author: Great Demon Spirit
The mutant problem is the most acute issue within humanity.
The Inhumans could barely be considered descendants of the Eternals. Initially, like the Mutants, they appeared among the humans of Earth, but Black Bolt had already led their entire race to the Moon.
This race, which also possesses superhuman abilities and can climb the technology tree, is not a threat to humanity. On the contrary, they can be seen as a sub-branch of the human race, a force that can be united with.
In some parallel universes, Black Bolt is even a member of the "Illuminati," a core force protecting Earth.
But the Mutants are different. This group, which could barely be considered descendants of the Deviants, should actually be seen as a branch of humanity and an important component of the human race—at least much better than the Vampire Clan.
As a result, the conflict between humanity and the Mutants has become irreconcilable. In the eyes of many, the situation has become one of "it's either you or me," which is extremely dire.
"I know your concerns, but the truth is, I don't believe some mutant organizations, like the Brotherhood, are completely ignorant about the situation with the Deviants that went extinct. They're trying every means possible to prove they are nobler than humans, so they're bound to investigate historical matters," Du Wa said, spreading his hands.
Coulson nodded. "Correct. This field of study is called 'Mutant Origins,' and it's quite popular among the mutant population."
His biggest worry was that it would be trouble if those Mutants mistook Ikaris, an Eternal, for an ancient Deviant.
But unfortunately, the very thing he—or rather, S.H.I.E.L.D.—was worried about was exactly what Du Wa wanted to see.
Du Wa held no ill will toward these eleven Eternals, but no goodwill either. He felt even less for the inferior, dog-like Deviants. These two groups were nothing more than tools that fellow, Arishem, had been using repeatedly for millions of years.
They were a completely different matter from the Eternals and Deviants on planets like the Skrull Planet and Earth, who could reproduce and establish civilizations.
Besides, Du Wa had already faced off against Ikaris, the powerhouse among the eleven Eternals.
"He has abilities like that Superman from next door, albeit a poor man's version. But if I could parasitize him, it would be excellent," Du Wa mused.
Seeing Du Wa's expression, Coulson stood up. "Well, let's conclude this meeting here. I have many other missions to attend to. However, Mr. Du Wa, you don't wish to see this world descend into chaos, do you?"
Coulson gave the surrounding xenomorphs a meaningful look, a deep sense of dread flashing in his eyes.
One of the important purposes of his visit this time was to risk getting a close-up look at these terrifying creatures.
It could parasitize Abomination and, after its birth, clearly displayed combat power that surpassed the original. This fact sent a chill down Coulson's spine, despite his extensive experience.
He just didn't know what this creature's reproductive capabilities were, or where the limits of its parasitism lay. Could it only parasitize mammals? Only mortal beings? Then... what about gods?
This universe was not short on gods. Some interstellar civilizations that had developed for many years had even established their own pantheons.
For example, the Skrulls have Skrull gods.
Xenomorph. Coulson had learned the name of this creature on this visit and also confirmed that these beings showed an extremely high level of obedience to Du Wa, for unknown reasons.
There were too many mysteries surrounding the xenomorphs, and Du Wa, who controlled them through unknown means, was even more baffling.
Coulson left. Before he did, he pointed at Elektra and said, "If you don't mind, I would be happy to take her away. The Japanese Hand is notorious and has committed many major crimes."
"I do mind. I'm keeping her."
"Very well." Coulson wouldn't clash with Du Wa over something like this and departed, filled with worry.
Only Elektra was left, trapped and unable to advance or retreat. Her face was pale, and her spirits were low.
After eavesdropping for so long, she had obtained a lot of strange information. The Deviants seemed to be related to the Eternals? And that flying man wasn't a Deviant? It was a complete mess.
Elektra didn't want to know any of this; she just wanted to escape immediately.
"The problem now, Ms. Elektra, is that you can't escape, and you can't beat me. Whether you came to hunt down Kingpin's men or on the command of the Five Fingers, you've fallen into my hands."
Du Wa walked up to Elektra, looking her up and down, and deliberately said, "You also know a lot of secrets you shouldn't. The Deviants in Alaska—that's not something you're supposed to know about."
Honestly, Elektra was quite good. If used well, she might provide some help.
"If you're going to kill me, just do it."
Elektra watched Du Wa approach her. Her words were tough, but her eyes lit up.
She couldn't beat these xenomorphs, but she couldn't beat a single human?
When the two were only a meter apart, Elektra moved. A dagger suddenly shot out from her sleeve, aiming straight for Du Wa's neck.
Elektra didn't intend to kill, only to take Du Wa hostage to intimidate these creatures and then escape.
Speed, timing, courage—Elektra seized them all. As a world-class assassin, she didn't think she could fail at this distance.
*Pak!*
Du Wa simply extended two fingers. It seemed casual, but was in fact appallingly precise and swift, easily pinching the tip of the dagger.
Elektra felt as if she had stabbed a piece of adamantium. No matter how much force she used, she couldn't advance even half an inch.
"How is this possible?!" Elektra was stunned, her expression shifting as she blurted out, "You're actually a superhuman? How else could you have this kind of power!"
"By your standards, I am. But there's no need to be envious, madam, because you're about to become one too. You won't be so stubborn then."
Du Wa opened his hand. A facehugger crawled onto it.
"It's beautiful and well-behaved, isn't it? And it likes you very much."
"Wait, no!"
Elektra's face paled in terror. She was about to begin a desperate struggle, but the moment she moved, she was pounced on and pinned down by a swarm of xenomorphs. She tried to bite down on the potent venom hidden in her teeth, but a Messenger Xenomorph forced her mouth open.
After the white substance entered her mouth, Elektra felt a warm current travel down her esophagus, and then she lost consciousness.
Don't misunderstand. For now, Du Wa had no intention of letting a chestburster emerge from Elektra. Even if the implantation was successful, the resulting creature would only be a Drone Xenomorph born from an ordinary human host. Its combat power wouldn't be very high—not even enough to take one punch from the Abomination-Xenomorph.
What Du Wa needed was merely to complete the "implantation" stage with Elektra.
Few people knew of this other use for a facehugger: to only implant an embryo, without it bursting from the chest!
This way, the host could obtain the power contained within the facehugger's genes!
In this world, only Du Wa could do this, because he could make the facehugger never allow the embryo to burst forth. This was also the reason why Du Wa, who had been an ordinary person not long ago, was now a superhuman capable of withstanding a punch from a heavily injured Abomination!
Using this method, in the near future, the stronger the xenomorphs became and the higher the quality of the genes they acquired, the more Du Wa's own strength would leap forward as well.
Du Wa waved his hand, dismissing the xenomorphs. He left Elektra where she was, ignoring her, because from this moment on, it was impossible for Elektra to ever escape Du Wa's control—neither her life nor her actions.
As he left, Du Wa glanced imperceptibly at a Messenger Xenomorph in a corner.
And as the xenomorphs scattered, one of the seemingly ordinary Messenger Xenomorphs in the corner, which appeared perfectly normal on the surface, took out a signal emitter from an angle unseen by Du Wa and the other xenomorphs, and sent a signal to the outside world.
"This is Mystique. I have successfully infiltrated and obtained critical intelligence: the flying man is a Deviant, location Alaska!"
(end of chapter)