Symbiote 0289: Final Stretch (2/4)

Just as Alex started channeling the Authority of the Mind Stone, it started consuming his Bioenergy. Moving as fast as possible, he visualized an infinite number of threads connected to the stone that extended throughout the universe. Using his immense mental prowess, he was able to isolate the thread that was connected to Shang Chi. It was much more robust than the other threads, with a faint presence of the same Mind Authority that he was utilizing to examine the thread. That presence protected Shang Chi's mind from being glimpsed by Alex. The mere connection to an Infinity Stone provided him with a defense against such an intrusion.

'This is going to be troublesome …'

Immediately his Bioenergy reserves took a sharp decline to allow him to mitigate the backlash of channeling so much Mind Authority. Before Shang Chi could even notice the intrusion, Alex stopped the channeling of Mind Authority, merely leaving a simple yet effective suggestion that would make it impossible for Shang Chi to continue delaying attacking Cindy.

[EP -12563]

From having somewhere around twenty thousand units of Bioenergy, Alex directly went back down to the four digits. But it would be fine. Direct Combat against Shang Chi would consume his EP, but it would be nowhere near this close. All he needed to do was restrain Shang Chi from using the Infinity Stones and subdue or devour him. Even if he didn't generate any more EP in that duration, it wouldn't affect Alex.

'Now, to wait for him to make his move.'

…

"What do you mean hundreds of sites?!" One of the more unruly team leaders among the Neo Avengers spoke up. "We were already stretched thin with the last setting. How the hell do you expect us to clear twenty sites per team?"

"That is the intelligence that we have received from the reconnaissance division. Just like before, they have predicted the presence of more than five hundred bomb sites throughout the state today. We don't have the time to argue, nor do we have the manpower to lessen your burdens. Now get to work, people; we have a state to protect."

The reason that the people listened to Captain America's words and promptly dispersed was that not only was she managing all of the communications with the different teams, but she was also doing her best to work on disarming the bombs that were littered throughout the city.

"I feel that today's the day," Dagger spoke to Silk. "They are going all out to spread us thin. Are we confident that we can hold the ambush off long enough?"

"It's going to be fine. We only need to hold them off for a moment. Apex and the rest can directly teleport to us the moment they realize that we are being attacked."

"I hope so …" Cloak spoke in a ghostly voice.

As the hours passed, the team was already feeling stretched thin.

"Does this guy have his entire country backing him?" Dagger grumbled as she blinded three men who were about to shoot at their group. "How is it that every base we strike, we need to deal with so many people? How did so many people enter the country in the first place?"

"Who knows?" Cindy grumbled, effortlessly taking care of four men who wielded electric batons.

Soon, they made their way to the bomb, and a small drone shot out of the communicator on Dagger's wrist, attaching itself to the bomb. Moments later, it was disarmed.

A tired breath escaped Silk's mask, "Onto the next one."

"Maybe not," Cloak's ghostly voice stopped her in her tracks. She saw the ghost man looking up at the ceiling as if expecting something to happen.

Just as Cloak looked up in the air, Silk turned her head, only to see sparks materialize in the air beside her. Just as the portal was about to open, an aura of red blanketed the entire building. The sparks died, immediately warping away the portal.

"Shang Chi," Silk spoke in a soft voice as footsteps echoed through the hall. Her teammates immediately looked at the approaching figure.

"You never thought such a day would come, did you, Cindy Moon?" The man spoke in a chilling voice.

"Your name's Cindy?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. Her grave tone gave away her stress.

"My fight is against her," Shang Chi said. "You two should stand back."

"Wouldn't that completely defeat the purpose of the team?" Dagger chuckled.

"They didn't tell you why I'm trying to kill her, did they?" Shang Chi said, still approaching them with calm, measured steps. "I'll tell you." Just as he was about to continue, the dome of crimson that he was maintaining started flickering as a loud sound reverberated throughout the building.

"Maybe some other time then," the man growled as a ring glowed on his finger, and he suddenly accelerated, appearing right in front of Cindy.

She barely raised her arm to block the attack, but it still blew her away as he used the five rings on his wrist to create a shockwave that assaulted her.

"You're weaker than I thought," the man spoke, effortlessly avoiding the attacks of Cloak and Dagger as he appeared in front of Cindy again.

"And you think you're smarter than you actually are," Cindy spat as the front of her mask got stained with her blood. Shang Chi was about to attack her once again, but he was forced to pause as he saw the intrusion in his Reality Bubble that would prevent any spatial intrusion.

A crack appeared in space as Alex broke through the restriction with the raw strength of Wanda's newly empowered Chaos Magic. He stepped out of it, adorned in a formal suit, making it seem like he was here for a diplomatic meeting rather than a battle. His appearance was just the first of many as after the crack closed behind him, it was followed by more cracks appearing in the domain as more and more people entered.

"Stand down, Shang Chi," Doctor Strange spoke. "You're outmatched."

The man in question just gave a chuckle in response, "Am I now?" He asked rhetorically.

Instantly, everyone in the room found themselves facing a doppelgänger.

"Don't get in my way," The man growled hatefully as the doppelgängers started attacking their respective opponents.

"Cool training practice …" Alex mumbled as he looked at his opponent. It was as if he was looking into a mirror. "That is if the use of the Reality Stone wasn't fueled by literally sucking out the essence of an incubating Celestial …"

[How do you know so much about that Wanda? Have you already infiltrated her base?]

[With her command over Chaos Magic, I can't get close to her without her finding out.]

[Then how?] Gwen asked as she faced her doppelgänger. The two had identical Apex suits and even their abilities and fighting styles were identical.

[You'll find out in time. Once I integrate your planet into my Gaia Cluster, I'll bring you to infiltrate Scarlet Angel's forces.]

[You should go save Cindy. She seems to be in bad shape.]

[It's a pity to waste such a useful training partner …] Alex lamented as he utilized Mind Authority to combat the Reality Authority that Shang-Chi used to conjure up Gwen's doppelgänger.

[Still, you should fight Shang-Chi. I still have to be ready for any surprises we might encounter.]

Instead of using the ability of the Mind Stone, he made its authority clash against the Reality Stone's authority with a brute force attack, directly dispelling the clone. She didn't delay for even a moment and shot her web at the wall behind Shang-Chi.

Cindy was barely holding on against the man's onslaught as he used the various esoteric powers of the Mandarin's Rings to suppress her. That was when she felt a familiar presence. Gwen's web got attached to the wall right beside her as Shang-Chi was forced to step aside for her entry.

"How about a round two?" Gwen spoke as her black suit took up a tint of blue, empowered by her bio-electricity.

"Spider Woman," Shang-Chi growled. "I guess you two must find solidarity in the murders you've committed. Hypocrites."

"Maybe I'm not actually hero material after all. Most of my actions were more about making up for my mistakes than actually helping people," Gwen's chuckle was self-deprecating. "But I think I'll unpack that once you are dealt with."

"You are not my opponent," Shang-Chi spoke as he focused on Cindy, attacking her with a shockwave that was released from the five rings on his wrist. One of the rings on his fingers also glowed as Influence empowered the released shockwave.

Gwen was quick to discharge a chunk of her Bioenergy that was empowered by Alex's new ‹Lightning Divinity›. She redirected the shockwave as it destroyed multiple pillars of the building and made a huge hole the size of a bus.

"This time, you won't be able to cheat by using an Infinity Stone."

***

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