Chapter 18: A Planetary Ambition

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"I don't believe in god. There's no proof he exists. In a world where there isn't even proof of the future, the past exists. Even if it's tainted with misunderstandings and delusions, if the people themselves believe in it, the past is the truth to them. And, if you base your actions or your life around it, in a way, it's a type of god itself."

-Izaya Orihara, (Durarara!)

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<Atem POV> 

"Come on, just give a dollar more. One dollar wouldn't hurt your pockets. One dollar and I'll even throw in another endorsement video. How about that?" Tony Stark, the genius billionaire continued to try his best to change my mind as he pleaded from behind the computer's screen. 

Currently, Stark Industries was getting a commission of five cents on every dosage of the MX001 serum sold worldwide along with the logistics and distribution costs but after seeing the massive demand for the serum along with the fact that most metahumans were ready to pay more money for each vial, Tony could not help but want to slightly increase the prices and get more commission from each sale. He might be a billionaire philanthropist but even he knew when there was space for more money to be made. After all, being a businessman was in his blood.

"Sorry Tony but not so soon. I understand that you want to keep the shareholders calm by showing at least some amount of profit from this deal with Meta Enterprises. Still, the current version of the serum is purely for marketing purposes and to spread our brand recognition in the pharmaceutical industry and gain the trust of professionals in the health industry. But don't worry, we will start making considerable gains from the release of our next-generation products. I have several game-changing pharmaceutical products already in mind for that." 

"*Sigh* Fine, just make sure not to throw away my company after using it for your own pleasure. I hate people who don't call back a second time after cheaply using my company's services." Tony joked with a smirk on his face as he felt quite proud of successfully using a dirty joke. 

"Yeah, sure Mr. Gigolo. Just make sure not to die of palladium radiation poisoning before our next deal because that will be a true shame." I said after which I immediately ended the call without giving him a chance to ask any further questions.

"Was that wise, letting him know that you are aware of his biggest weakness? He could begin countermeasures against you if he thinks you pose too much danger." Zoya said as she floated around me.

"Maybe, but it truthfully doesn't matter. I spooked him back when I showed off some of my abilities while rescuing him. I am pretty sure that he learns from his mistakes. I would be surprised if he hadn't already done thorough research on me while preparing countless countermeasures against the abilities I had displayed. That is the reason why I respect Tony Stark so much more than Reed Richards." 

"I do agree with that sentiment Sir. Tony even without being connected with the world of supers was always prepared for metahuman attacks as long as they were on a small scale. He even had a Thought scrambler present on his person from the very start along with specialized defense systems installed in his home against any possible metahuman invasion. But Reed was the complete opposite.

I found research on his servers about anti-metahuman cuffs and anti-metahuman cells that he had developed as side projects to prevent them from using their powers by targeting the x-gene but despite having so much successful research, he never uses them in his practical life. Even his cybersecurity systems and his building defenses are average at best when compared to the ones used by geniuses like Victor Von Doom and Tony Stark. He didn't even have anything like a thought scrambler present on hand during our last visit, to protect himself from telepaths." Zoya said with a voice that almost sounded like she was frustrated at Reed's incompetence.

"But that's good for us, I guess. I got the entirety of three months to seduce Susan because of that. By the way, tell Emma not to spread fake news among the others claiming that I am cucking one of my employees. That sounds incredibly wrong. Imagine my surprise when Jean came and asked me if I had a kink of cucking other men and she would be happy to help me in it if it pleases me by dating some weakminded simp on the surface for me to insult. I mean, come on. Reed wasn't even dating Susan, so how did I NTR him?" I tried to defend myself.

"But you did know about Susan's crush on Reed, so you intended to steal her from him. Also, Emma found out after doing a telepathic scan of his mind that he is extremely close to being an asexual with the only two things that turn him on being intellectual competition and the other being cucked..." 

"Don't, just don't. I am pretty sure Emma lied to everyone when she claimed that. I knew should have read his mind myself. I normally don't do that since I not only find it distasteful but also it doesn't help me much since it only gives me the memories of the other person but not their intelligence or anything. Well, next time I guess. Anyway, why are you here Zoya? To make me look like a sexual predator who loves stealing away other people's partners?" I huffed, not liking the fact that I was being branded the same type of muscled, golden-haired scum that I hated so much in those NTR mangas where they stole the wives, girlfriends, and mothers of others by banging them to idiocracy.

I mean sure I stole Ororo from Black Banther in a way since she was supposed to be his future queen one day but it didn't count since they only met once in their lives when they were young. As for Jean and Scott, well I did the world a favor by taking her for myself and I am quite proud of it. It's not NTR when it's for the betterment of the world.

"No sir. But I should let you know that since you are my master, I will support you in anything you wish to do, even if it is to steal every woman on the planet for yourself. Because that is my only true purpose, the reason why I even exist. As for why I am here, I found the thing we were looking for, the plant hidden by the sentient planet Ego in Earth's biodiversity. Do you want me to collect it as a specimen? However, a small warning. Removing it from nature would not only be extremely difficult but also alert Ego about it. So caution is advised." She warned in a monotone voice.

"The plant that is supposed to produce weird jelly and cover the entire Earth when Ego activates it? You found it? When I gave you the task, I thought it would be more or less impossible to find such a small and normal-looking plant like that in a huge US state like Missouri." I said with raw astonishment shining on my face.

The only reason I even gave her the task was because she was getting bored of having nothing to do in the last couple of years with her immense processing power just lying around. I remember reading a couple of Chinese fanfictions in my past life where the MCs found the celestial alien plant using their private fighting force but that should be impossible since that plant didn't even register in my cosmic senses that could encompass the entire planet at once.

Also, even sorcerers, Asgardians, or the huge amount of different secret organizations present on the planet were incapable of finding the plant, making it evident that locating the seedling wasn't as simple as it sounded.

"I found it using an intricate algorithm utilizing complex seismic sensors, energy sensors, and an array of other bio-sensors. The plant might not give off any massive traces of energy or radiation but it seems that it is unique in the fact that it has connected with the planet extremely deeply to protect itself. Its multiple thin yet sturdy roots have gone so deep into the earth that they have even reached the mantle of the Earth, making the process of removing them an extremely complicated and strenuous job. The deep roots were how I located the plant" She explained with a proud undertone in her voice.

"I see. I assume that you have already sent some sentinels to study the flower more thoroughly? Did you find anything important in it or was the entire thing another useless venture?"

"The plant itself won't be really useful but some of the pollen inside it which is in an inactive condition due to its unique nature can be used to boost our research to cure the more incurable diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or Alzheimer's or diseases like ALS without revealing the existence of our more potent serums to the people.

But its importance is not in that sector. How it's truly important is the fact that it gives off a thin and subtle 'signal' of sorts that I assume is directly received by its parent, Ego. This 'signal' of unknown energy is probably the method through which Ego can not only detect and sense the plant but also may manually activate it later to use it as a planet-devouring bomb. But I might be able to use it to find the exact location of Ego instead if I get to conduct enough experiments on it." Zoya said with a series of blips.

"... You mean, we can now track Ego. That's... amazing. I have been waiting for this for the last decade. It is the ultimate planet to have a base on. No, the ENTIRE planet will be my base with my newly acquired city of Zenith as its capital. Yes, and the best thing is that I have the perfect little tool for that too." I said as I got the lone golden crystal out of my inventory. 

"Ah, the Sunstone crystal, one of your earliest rewards. I remember that. Are you going to use it to create a stronghold on the planet? I can reprogram it to perhaps make one of the most impenetrable and beautiful fortresses in the known wide world, something that can grow and evolve continuously on its own." Zoya curiously asked as she completed scanning the crystal.

"You think too small my cubic sweetheart. Why make a base when you can make an entire planet, the whole planet united by a single programmable crystal that could make anything using the mass of the planet? No matter how complicated the technology, this can replace anything en masse as long as it has its designs and access to raw materials. This combined with a living planet like Ego, which can even control its biodiversity and atmosphere, we can have the ultimate planet. Screw Mars and Elon Musk. Muhahahahahaha." I laughed my heart out like a villainous maniac who just figured out a way to control the planet while Zoya continued to watch me silently, looking a little embarrassed if one were to go by the lack of her lights flashing like they normally do.

Well, whatever. Women will never understand us men anyway.

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