Doom was frozen solid, then sealed inside a cultivation pod and lowered into the floor.
Killian stayed with him. When the time was right, Zod would let them out.
…
"At this point, his Dark Knight armor can actually reach outer space?"
Inside Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury's expression was grim, his face looking darker than ever.
He hadn't expected Zod Heath's Dark Knight armor to already possess the ability to break free of Earth's gravity and appear in outer space.
That meant Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous evaluations of Zod Heath had to be overturned and redone, starting with his threat level.
If a single soldier could punch through the atmosphere and reach the cosmos, then as long as Zod Heath wanted to, he could destroy a nation's communications satellites in an instant.
Humanity still had no strategic doctrine or weapon systems designed specifically for deep space.
As for Zod Heath's War Machines… sorry. A Raptor could only fly so high, and a War Machine could only fly that high too. Any higher and it would freeze up, then crash.
"What exactly is he trying to do?" Fury believed that Zod Heath secretly developing War Machines capable of reaching space, then choosing this moment to reveal that capability, had to carry some deeper intent.
After all, Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't stupid. Those times Zod Heath saved civilians and upheld justice were all just for show.
Still, the genius had been saving people in such an all-encompassing way that it reduced Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D.'s workload by a lot, so Fury didn't interfere too much.
At first, the police worried Zod Heath would damage their credibility. In the end, Zod Heath only helped deal with criminals they couldn't handle. Most of the time, he rarely acted at all, which made them feel much more at ease.
A genius who understood showmanship was dangerous, because it meant he was deliberately disguising his true nature.
"Could it be… he's warning every country?" Fury sank into thought. It wasn't impossible. Recently, some people had started reaching out with greedy hands. Zod Heath probably noticed something, so he chose this moment to loudly reveal new capabilities in his armor.
Touch me, and I'll cripple all your communications.
Think about it. There were so many satellites in space. If Zod Heath destroyed them all…
Humanity wouldn't regress by hundreds of years, but the economic losses would be enormous.
Launching replacements wouldn't take too long, since every country prepared backup satellites in case of accidents.
However, Zod Heath could still destroy the new satellites too.
"Fuck. Don't tell me he wants to stand above the whole world!" Fury thought of this, and suddenly felt like he'd guessed Zod Heath's intention. If Zod Heath really did that, then he would become the Sword of Damocles hanging over the entire world!
"Not just that, Director. If Zod Heath truly wants to do this, the threat he poses is actually even more terrifying," a Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. researcher said while analyzing.
"Do you know? His Dark Knight armor has enough capability to push satellites and make them fall. I don't know if you've seen those sci-fi works with orbital kinetic weapons. It's basically the same principle. Just one satellite would be enough to destroy all of New York City!"
America had indeed begun studying the armor technology Zod Heath had just revealed.
"That's impossible. Don't forget, Blade Tech Industries is still on Earth. He still needs to live, doesn't he?" someone objected.
"When one person possesses force that the entire world can't do anything about, that person becomes the new king," an Air Force general said, seeing this as a rare opportunity. "Besides, can you guarantee Zod Heath only has Blade Tech Industries? Can you guarantee he only has one Dark Knight armor?"
No one could guarantee that Zod Heath had only Blade Tech Industries as a base. And no one could guarantee he only had a single Dark Knight armor.
The Dark Knight armor's performance completely crushed the world's military technology in every category. Radar couldn't lock onto it or even detect it. All they could do was watch Zod Heath fly through American airspace again and again. Not to mention this time, Zod Heath appeared in outer space.
"We can't use the excuse that he hasn't committed a crime yet and just refuse to act against him!"
In truth, there were many concerns about Zod Heath. For example, did he have a hidden steel legion? Even if War Machines were far inferior to his Dark Knight armor, they still overwhelmed most human military weapons.
Yet when faced with the War Machines Zod Heath had already "retired," every nation's researchers tried everything. They even attempted nuclear magnetic resonance to probe parts that couldn't be disassembled. But even now, nobody could replicate a War Machine.
As for Stark Industries and the Iron Man suit sample Tony Stark left behind before his death… forget it. Tony Stark hadn't even finished the Arc Mini Reactor design. Even if Zod Heath pressured him into producing a suit early, he still needed time to develop the mini reactor, something he wouldn't complete until eight years later.
So it was just a hollow shell. Even if Obadiah accepted a ton of investment, it was like a math problem. If you can't, you can't.
While they argued fiercely about Zod Heath's "plot" and strategies to deal with him, they had no idea Zod Heath was simply making an example to scare the monkeys.
Recently, Zod Heath really had been annoyed. The worst part was that the ones bothering him were all tiny nobodies. The Hydra he was waiting for still hadn't moved at all, and he didn't know if they were holding back a big play. Other nation-level intelligence agencies weren't acting either. Zod Heath was sick of small fry, so he made this move.
I have the ability to fly into space now. I can threaten all humanity at any time. If you don't want to die, behave.
As for whether it would push the world into jumping the wall, Zod Heath didn't care at all. If they jumped, he could press them back down. If they didn't, fine.
After that, the world's surface looked calm, as if Zod Heath saving people was just an ordinary thing. But whether there were undercurrents in the shadows, Zod Heath didn't know.
He could have twisted all electromagnetic waves in America and used himself as a central hub to filter and process all information to obtain intelligence. But Zod Heath was busy with research, and with continuing to develop electromagnetic force and gravity. Why would he waste time playing games with people he could crush casually?
"Susan."
Reed Richards found his ex-girlfriend.
Doom had gone missing. People assumed he fled because he couldn't accept losing everything. His Doom Industries was declared bankrupt by the banks, and its assets were put up for auction.
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