Chapter 48: To Prevent a Xenomorph Takeover, S.H.I.E.L.D. Targets Du Wa
The rapidly evolving, size-shifting Xenomorph before them was the one S.H.I.E.L.D. had captured in a decisive raid while Du Wa had taken his main force from New York to New Mexico.
These scientists, already privy to intelligence on the Xenomorphs, were in a frenzy. They hoped to bring the creature under their control.
"This Xenomorph is a bit too smart. After it burst from a prisoner's chest, we locked it in an Adamantium cage, electrocuting and freezing it. It immediately became docile and very quiet," said Hill, quickly flipping through a file in her hand.
Fury stared straight ahead. "But from another perspective, its apparent docility only makes us more suspicious. This just proves it isn't that smart, merely feigning cleverness."
At that moment, the Xenomorph's metamorphosis was complete, its body reaching a height of 2.7 meters.
Fury glanced at it, and his previously agitated heart cooled slightly. "It's too scrawny."
"The Queen needs time to grow. According to the intelligence provided by Blade, the first time he met Du Wa, the Queen by his side was also only two to three meters tall. But when it appeared in New Mexico, that Xenomorph's body had already reached four and a half meters," Hill said.
"But that's not quite right. All the Xenomorphs around Du Wa, aside from the Queen, grow rapidly within a few hours after the Chestburst. After metamorphosing at an abnormal speed, their development ceases."
"Perhaps this is what makes the Queen special. Our preliminary deduction is that the social structure of this Xenomorph species is similar to a beehive. A Queen leads a Xenomorph hive. We have now gained initial control over this newborn Queen through pheromones and will soon command an entire Xenomorph population," Hill explained, looking at the report in her hands.
Du Wa frequently dispatched Xenomorphs to raid vampire populations, causing his name to become greatly renowned throughout the vampire world and even the entire underground world.
Through these numerous operations, large and small, any faction worth its salt had, through constant observation, roughly figured out some of the Xenomorphs' superficial habits.
And now, Fury believed that he was beginning to probe the Xenomorph's core secrets and would soon have complete control over the creature.
"Look, the Queen is creating biological ducts! Maybe it's about to lay eggs!" a scientist shouted.
A group of people immediately began using pheromones extracted from the Xenomorph's secretions to communicate with it.
They were busy, but at the very least, they confirmed that the Facehuggers born from the Queen could also be controlled by them.
"It's time." A sharp, cold glint flashed in Fury's single eye. "Send a senior agent to contact Du Wa and invite him to join S.H.I.E.L.D.! The thing he's most proud of is already in our hands. In our eyes, he has no more secrets."
A sheathed sword is the most feared. Fury understood this principle well. Now that he had personally peeled away Du Wa's secret, and Du Wa's greatest reliance—the Xenomorphs—had been seized by him, he no longer had any reservations.
What? Thor's hammer? Wasn't that only lifted because of Thor? Besides, in Fury's eyes, Asgard was ultimately not a realm of true gods, just a more advanced and powerful race.
The true value of Thor's hammer was questionable. Moreover, once they had Du Wa, they could do whatever he could do, and they could certainly do it better!
"What team should we invite him to join? The Avengers? Howling Commandos? God-Hammer? Air Cavalry?" Hill rattled off a series of names.
"Howling Commandos."
"An excellent idea. With Blade there, we can still monitor him."
Fury gave Hill a deadpan look. "Not because of that. I just don't see him as human. A guy who can stuff a Xenomorph embryo into his chest and swap it out at will can't be considered a normal human by any measure. He's a much better fit with those ghosts, mummies, and zombies."
As for The Avengers? Absolutely not. That was the number-one team in Fury's mind, a team reserved for only the most trustworthy individuals.
"But he lifted Thor's hammer. Thor originally left him but then went back on his own accord. This makes it impossible for us to determine Thor and Du Wa's standing in Asgard."
"I don't acknowledge him as a God of Thunder. Not long ago, he was just a human. The greatest power he possesses, we now have it too!"
Fury turned and walked out of the laboratory.
…
"It seems you've made some crucial progress over there, otherwise you wouldn't have sent someone to invite me," Du Wa said, looking earnestly at the beautiful woman before him.
Natasha flicked her long, wine-red hair, her lips parting slightly. As she spoke to Du Wa, her gaze had already drifted over to Thor. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a global organization, with its doors open to all people of ability and conviction—"
"Let's cut the pleasantries, this is exhausting. Also, you can look me in the eye when you talk to me, instead of staring at Thor. He won't be going with you."
"How crude. However, a guest from Asgard should receive better treatment. The slightest misstep could trigger an international diplomatic crisis…"
Natasha moved closer to Du Wa, the specially-made perfume she wore exuding a delicate fragrance designed to stir the hormones. But before she could finish, Thor spoke in a deep voice, "I have no interest in your organization. Also, the stench you're giving off is terrible. It makes me want to sneeze."
Natasha's expression stiffened. Her charms were utterly lost on Thor.
It wasn't that she wasn't beautiful or alluring enough; it was purely because Thor was intently staring at the surrounding Xenomorphs, especially the new ones born from the bio-engineered monsters cultivated by Mr. Blue. He would occasionally reach out to touch them, seizing the time to familiarize himself with the Xenomorphs and beginning to ponder how he would command this army to fight the Frost Giants upon his return to Asgard.
These new, burly Xenomorphs, similar to the Abomination-type, naturally caught Natasha's attention. The cunning woman glanced at them and quickly looked away, but in reality, she had already committed everything to memory.
Du Wa smiled. "It seems your charms don't work on a god with over a thousand years of experience. My intuition tells me you understand men well, but don't forget, if I really wanted to do something, I have much better options."
The smile on Natasha's face vanished bit by bit. Her muscles tensed, ready to strike at any moment, as she stared intently at the approaching Mystique, Raven.
With every few steps, Raven transformed into a different beautiful woman, each one exquisitely curvy and a top-tier beauty in her own right. Finally, she took on Natasha's appearance.
"Fury sent me to invite you to join the Howling Commandos. Blade is also on this team. You would be great partners. If you just nod, you'll start as a Level Nine Agent. Globally, Level Nine is a very high starting point."
Natasha's face was stiff as she said, "We will also provide you with a professional science team to assist you in advancing your bio-engineering. All kinds of precious knowledge and resources will be allocated to you."
"And what's the price?"
"Obey S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command, relinquish your personal control over Thor, and your Xenomorphs, considered part of your power, will be integrated into S.H.I.E.L.D., along with Thor's hammer—"
"Listen to this woman's nonsense, Thor. These people actually think I'm controlling you. And she won't even deign to call me 'Your Excellency, God of Thunder.'"
Just as Thor was about to erupt, Du Wa spoke, his words causing Thor's eyes to widen in helpless exasperation.
Du Wa looked at Natasha and said seriously, "I won't be joining a bunch of thieves. You know what I'm talking about. You took something very important from me. I should also remind you that no matter how hard you try, in my eyes, what you've created is just a bunch of ridiculous imitations. You can never compete with me."
Natasha finally frowned. "Are you sure about your decision? You will most likely be officially designated a supervillain. An uncontrolled collective force will never be allowed to operate freely. That is absolutely not permitted."
"Like the Brotherhood, The Hand, the Hellfire Club, K'un-Lun, the Ten Rings, the Inhumans, or Atlantis? Do I need to think of a few more?"
Du Wa counted on his fingers, finally saying, "His Highness the Prince next to me and I have reached a new agreement. If you don't agree, well, that will be a grave provocation against me, the new God of Thunder of Asgard. You'd better think about the consequences. You people made no headway in New Mexico, and now you want to concern yourselves with Thor and me, the new God of Thunder, after the fact? Do you have any idea what status the God of Thunder holds in Asgard?"
"What agreement? An agreement with the Prince of Asgard?" Natasha's brain spun rapidly, seizing on the words with the most information, masking her inner doubt.
She desperately wanted to ask for clarification, but seeing Du Wa's expression, it was clear he wouldn't waste any more words on her. She turned and left; continuing the conversation was meaningless. As she departed, she looked back at Raven and said to Du Wa, "I really didn't expect you to be interested in a sixty-something-year-old crone who knows a lot of tricks."
"I'll see her out."
The moment Natasha left, Raven spoke those words and followed her out without hesitation, clearly intending to do something unfriendly.
Du Wa figured that Raven, empowered by a Xenomorph embryo and combined with her first-rate combat skills, would have no problem dealing with a genetically modified Natasha.
Du Wa wasn't interested in the life or death of a woman like that.
Du Wa focused on fulfilling his promise.
"Dr. Sterns, you need to speed up the cultivation process. A hundred or so is far from enough," Du Wa sent a command to Mr. Blue, who was located underground.
Mr. Blue rubbed his enormous head. He still wasn't used to a psychic command emanating from his own chest and drilling straight into his brain. For a man who relied so heavily on his intellect, it created a profound sense of insecurity.
But then, the thought that this beautiful Xenomorph creature was dwelling in his own chest, and that he could secretly study it when Du Wa wasn't looking, lifted his spirits again. Even the act of creating bio-engineered monsters became more brisk.
"Those were the ones I painstakingly stockpiled! They were a gift to you for joining you. You can't assume I can produce that many on a whim…" Mr. Blue tried to explain to Du Wa, also through the Xenomorph in his chest.
But Du Wa obviously wasn't listening.
"One week. I want five hundred. Otherwise, you'll be of little value to me. Prepare to welcome the Chestburst. Your life will be continued in the form of a Xenomorph," Du Wa said mercilessly.
He could tolerate their ambition and any attempts at betrayal, but he absolutely could not tolerate their incompetence.
If they didn't work their tails off for him, what was the point of parasitizing them in the first place?
Du Wa himself also began to rapidly advance the next phase of his plan. He dispatched his Xenomorphs on a massive scale, breaking them into small teams of five to rapidly cleanse New York and its surrounding areas of all vampires.
Yes, that included the human traitors who worshipped and defected to the vampires—the vampire thralls. They were all designated as hunting targets.
New York, as it happened, was the headquarters of the vampire kingdom. These creatures relied on their vast, generationally-accumulated wealth to enjoy the beauty of life in this city of debauchery.
Even though they had been repeatedly purged by Blade and Du Wa over the past period, they still had a sizable population, though it was rapidly dwindling.
Many vampires weren't afraid of Blade. As strong as he was, he was still just one person. But they were terrified of Du Wa. The force at Du Wa's command grew stronger and more numerous with every battle, making him the natural enemy of the vampires.
Du Wa even went so far as to remotely control dozens of Xenomorph teams during the day, sending them through streets and alleys to hunt for vampires, occasionally drawing the attention of some citizens.
The vampires cried and screamed, even using RPGs and other weapons to inflict some damage on the Xenomorphs, only to discover in terror that the scale of the Xenomorphs they faced was rapidly expanding!
This time they killed five Xenomorphs, next time a dozen more would come!
The total number of Xenomorphs was expanding at a dizzying rate, and Du Wa's actions finally enraged S.H.I.E.L.D. Even if he was hunting vampires, he was using private armed violence to destroy the relatively stable public order, openly and directly challenging the public order maintained by S.H.I.E.L.D. with his own private one.
A pale Natasha, still recovering from her serious injuries, submitted her work report, causing Fury to completely lose his patience.
"Du Wa is becoming more and more reckless! The scale of those Xenomorphs is in the triple digits. If this continues, is he going to use that many Xenomorphs to hold the entire New York City hostage?"
"Now it's vampires, soon it'll be supervillains, then ordinary humans, and in the end, even the stray cats and dogs on the street might end up with a Xenomorph embryo gestating inside them!"
Fury's face was ashen as he looked at the reports piling up like snowflakes. He truly couldn't understand. Was Du Wa preparing for war? Why was he being so brazen, not even bothering to keep up appearances?
What truly made Fury's blood run cold was the reproduction mechanism of the Xenomorph creature.
Originally, Fury hadn't thought the Alien Queen's fertility was that strong. One Queen, no matter how many she birthed, would have a hive of limited size.
But as Fury observed the Queen imprisoned in the Adamantium cage, a thought naturally occurred to him: what if Du Wa couldn't control too many Xenomorphs, and a few of them escaped his control?
Parasitizing birds to migrate far and wide; parasitizing fish to enter the oceans, unreachable by humanity…
Then, through some principle, they would all metamorphose into Queens…
Good god, the entire planet overrun with out-of-control Xenomorphs?
The more he understood, the more Fury came to favor and appreciate the Xenomorph, but also the more clearly he saw the terrifying potential risk it posed to the world if it got out of control.
This had nothing to do with his assessment of Du Wa's "talent"; it was purely a matter of global security!
It was still somewhat controllable now, with just a three-digit number of Xenomorphs, which meant…
"To deal with Du Wa, we will inevitably have to pay a heavy price. Our agents and heroes will suffer heavy casualties against a Du Wa who controls both Thor's hammer and an army of Xenomorphs!"
Fury thought of the Queen in his possession. Under their pheromone commands and with a no-expense-spared supply of nutrients, it was rapidly laying eggs every day. In just a few days, it had already accumulated a considerable number.
The scientists deduced that this Xenomorph Queen had likely activated a gene to significantly increase its egg-laying speed because it had undergone a spontaneous metamorphosis to expand its hive.
Du Wa's Queen, however, did not seem to have this characteristic.
The Xenomorph itself was a species that evolved through fusion with different genetic lines. It seemed logically plausible for such a deviation to occur, though it was also possible that Du Wa was intentionally suppressing his Queen's egg-laying ability.
A glint of determination and fervor flashed in Fury's eyes. "…We'll make our own move. We'll use Xenomorphs to defeat Xenomorphs. Du Wa will watch in despair as our methods for cultivating and deploying them far surpass his own. In the end, he's just a lucky fool who stumbled upon them. Only in our hands can the Xenomorphs become the truly controllable, perfect bioweapons needed to protect the Earth!"
(end of chapter)