Chapter 33: Expansion for the Sake of Expansion
Du Wa didn't know what was happening in Kamar-Taj, but he could guess that the Ancient One was probably discussing him with Wong and the others.
Du Wa didn't believe the Ancient One was unaware of his existence. After all, as the Guardian of Earth who possessed the Time Stone, they could observe countless futures with it.
"I just don't know if the Ancient One of this universe is the male or female version..."
This thought flashed through Du Wa's mind. He chuckled and quickly dismissed it.
In any case, regardless of which Ancient One it was, their future was bright—either they would return to the Vishanti or wander the entire universe with Eternity.
This was the benefit of having strong backing. Even in death, they wouldn't have to worry about their future, allowing them to view life and death with indifference.
In contrast, Du Wa felt he had to work much harder. Unlike the Ancient One, he didn't have multiversal-level backing—and more than one at that. He could only rely on himself.
"The attempt to steal dark magic using a Xenomorph has failed, and there won't be another opportunity like it."
Du Wa placed a hand on the Xenomorph that was born from the dark magic chestburst, carefully sensing its condition.
Now, Du Wa could only attempt to steal Dormammu's power. He couldn't target anyone else, because no matter how impotently furious Dormammu became, the Ancient One would be there to block him, so there was no need to worry about the consequences.
Besides, it wasn't as if Dormammu would give up on devouring Earth just because he wasn't provoked.
"Well then, I can give up on the path of magic."
Du Wa muttered to himself, not feeling particularly disappointed. He hadn't held much hope from the beginning; constantly using borrowed power was not a long-term solution.
Swaying with a graceful gait, Raven brought him a cup of boiling water and slammed it onto the table with a bang. "Magic? You clearly command a unique power of your own, yet you still covet magic? I have no idea what you're thinking."
"Magic is still very useful, those Magicians..." Elektra argued on Du Wa's behalf.
"Listen to who's talking. A Stockholm Syndrome patient who's defending someone else so soon after being captured? Or a rookie who just found out a place called Kamar-Taj exists in this world?"
Elektra's face twisted with anger. This old woman was always so good at seizing every opportunity for sarcastic remarks.
"Don't mind her, Elektra," Du Wa soothed. "She's about the same age as Erik and Charles, but her menopause is just prolonged."
"How heartwarming. You're so good at comforting people," Raven said, clearly losing her composure as she mimicked Elektra's appearance to speak.
Du Wa picked up the boiling water, drained it in one gulp, and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"It seems you really don't understand anything. Of course, that's not your fault. You only need to focus on the power of the X-Gene. I can't afford to do the same."
"A man saying he can't?"
"On a small scale, I'm the commander of an army. On a grander scale, I am the leader of a species. That is the biggest difference between you and me," Du Wa said.
While everyone else was focused on the wonder and power of the Xenomorphs, Du Wa's gaze was already fixed on a much more distant future.
Indulging in low-level power was a dead end. There was no guarantee that one day, a visitor from beyond the universe wouldn't appear, wielding a strength Du Wa would be powerless to face.
Therefore, Du Wa had long been secretly formulating a plan for the Xenomorphs' ascension!
From planetary life to cosmic life!
At the very least, he had to enable the Xenomorphs to survive in the vacuum of space, so they wouldn't perish just by falling into it like in the movies.
Admittedly, many famous individuals couldn't be considered cosmic life forms, such as Iron Man or Star-Lord. To fight in space, they needed to wear high-tech equipment.
This didn't stop them from using their talents, and no one dared to look down on them.
But if there was an opportunity to elevate the life form of the entire species, why not take it?
For now, the path of magic was clearly a dead end. Du Wa was unwilling to have the foundation for the Xenomorphs' ascension depend on some multiversal-level being.
"...Do I have to constantly adjust the genetic structure of the entire Xenomorph society? To continuously use parasitism and chestbursting to eventually forge a universal baseline that can survive in all sorts of harsh environments?"
Just like the Kryptonians from the other franchise, born able to bask under a yellow sun and grow stronger just by absorbing its light. This was a power derived from their race's genes.
Du Wa pondered this repeatedly, his eyes scanning the many Xenomorphs thronging around him.
After impregnating the ten Deviants sent over by Magneto, the total number of Xenomorphs had increased to forty-seven. This was just the public count, of course. In the Underground Lair, another sixty Xenomorph eggs remained unhatched. If Du Wa didn't issue the command to hatch, these eggs could remain dormant for over a hundred years without needing any external sustenance!
It wasn't that he couldn't have more Xenomorphs and eggs. But with insufficient peak combat power, reckless expansion—for instance, by impregnating countless animals—would only accelerate a joint suppression from Earth's major powers, which was detrimental to long-term development.
"The numbers are still insufficient. Currently, my only peak combat power is the single Abomination Xenomorph. There are fifteen Deviant Xenomorphs, and the rest are just a large number of Blood Xenomorphs..."
A crazy idea popped into Du Wa's head. Calculating the time, it was almost time for Thor's arrival on Earth.
Thor himself was not what Du Wa wanted. Odin wasn't dead yet. If he dared to parasitize Thor, it would undoubtedly provoke Odin's wrath.
Although Du Wa also greatly coveted Odin's body—sometimes thinking that since Odin was going to die in a few years anyway, his magnificent physique might as well benefit him—Odin was not someone he could touch right now.
Du Wa felt he needed to be more clever, to choose a path with a future and not just stay on Earth fighting vampires.
"Let's see... May 8th, New Mexico. Hmm, calculating the date... yes, I can actually start my operation now." Du Wa made his decision and immediately took action.
Raven was full of doubt regarding Du Wa's actions. In fact, she couldn't figure out any of this guy's secrets. She didn't know where Du Wa got his intelligence, whether the Xenomorphs were his creation, or the logic behind his next move.
"What have you thought of now?" Raven couldn't help but ask. "If I were you, I'd wait here quietly for Erik to capture more Deviants, hunt enough vampires, and continuously expand the number of Xenomorphs."
Even counting only the Blood Xenomorphs, Raven couldn't see the limit of the Xenomorph Queen's egg-laying, nor could she see the limit to the number of Xenomorphs Du Wa could control. Naturally, the more Xenomorphs he had on hand, the better.
When Du Wa had only a few Xenomorphs, people considered him a mad scientist. When he had dozens, they saw him as a formidable superhuman.
What about when Du Wa had hundreds of Xenomorphs?
Even the weakest Blood Xenomorph possessed raw strength far exceeding that of an ordinary human or a weak Mutant. They could ignore most damage from firearms and were perfectly obedient and utilitarian. Once they reached a sufficient scale, they would be an unimaginably huge asset to the Brotherhood!
Imagine if every member of the Brotherhood could be assigned a Xenomorph—or even three to five? What a terrifying increase in strength that would be!
Even Magneto would be tempted.
Raven's reason for staying by Du Wa's side had already shifted from simply being a hostage and probing for secrets to trying to find a way to win him over.
But Du Wa's mind wasn't on this old woman at all. He was aware of Raven's little schemes but didn't care.
He set out with his troops.
(end of chapter)