Chapter 198

A holographic meeting was taking place in a room.

This time, there were 6 holographic figures, unlike before when there were only five.

"It's been a while since we gathered," said Bertrand, the public leader of HYDRA, who had publicly revealed the organization shortly after the invasion of New York.

"Isn't it because we've been busy?" said one of the holographic figures. This one now revealed its form, showing a clearly feminine silhouette. She was the leader of the Asian sector.

Pierce was also present, still standing as the top authority of SHIELD, although he knew it was futile. All his moves were being controlled by Fury.

If he didn't want to provide evidence of his actions, he had no choice but to fulfill his duty. However, it wasn't so bad as he could gather valuable information.

He knew clearly that he was only alive because he was one of the leaders of HYDRA, and killing him would be a waste, But they also had no clear evidence to dismiss him.

Bertrand looked at the other three remaining people.

In front of him was the leader of the African area of HYDRA, next to him was Zola, not the leader of any specific field but the oldest member, and usually, his words carried more weight.

Lastly, there was the newest member of their circle, Sterns, a scientist specializing in gamma radiation conducting experiments for HYDRA.

All gathered to lead HYDRA towards a simple yet complex goal.

World domination.

"Hey Bertrand, are you listening? I need more men," said the Asian leader, raising her voice a bit when she noticed no response.

"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts, but regarding more men, we should ask for Dr. Sterns' opinion," Bertrand said, looking at the person in question.

"I actually wanted to take this opportunity to propose something based on the type of organization we have."

"We claim to be a good organization, but if our experiments keep dying, eventually, we'll be discovered," Sterns said, smiling slightly.

"So, I thought of a great idea. Tell me... has anyone seen Star Wars?" Sterns asked, looking at everyone.

Sterns didn't wait for their responses before continuing.

"I think we should reduce the number of subjects and simply create genetically enhanced clones," Sterns said excitedly.

"Clones are loyal, cheap, and easy to train. To put it in simpler terms, I'd recommend watching the movie for a better understanding," Sterns added.

"And the drawbacks?" the African leader asked, looking at Sterns.

"Clones only live around 40 years under normal conditions. Also, a small variety of people with great genetic potential should be selected as a base sample," Sterns explained.

"Something that could be considered negative is that if they fall in battle and their bodies are examined, it could easily be discovered that they are clones, which could affect the organization's newly built reputation," Sterns said.

"Alright, but we should keep them for special situations and hopefully have a great variety, creating small groups to reduce the risk of exposure," Pierce said, nodding slightly.

"It's a good project. It will be useful when we conquer the world; we won't lack soldiers," said the Asian leader.

"I see that goal getting farther and farther away. If Damian wasn't a big enough mountain over us, now gods have arrived, people with superpowers, and mutant animals," said the African leader.

"Yes, in a way, I'm glad he's here. Although chaos benefits us, this goes a bit beyond our capabilities," Bertrand said, nodding slightly without words.

"Anyway, tell me, can Blonsky be deployed?" Pierce asked, looking at Sterns.

"Yes, he can now change shape at will," Sterns confirmed, nodding.

"Perfect, send him to the mountains to hunt. Fury has paid a lot of attention to mutant animals; we should do the same," Pierce said.

"I wonder what they taste like," said the Asian leader.

"Maybe eating their flesh could improve our bodies," Bertrand added, nodding.

...

"It's great to see you all again," said Ajak with a slightly joyful smile. She is the leader of the Eternals.

"I suppose," said Druig, who could control people's minds.

"Yes, after all, you said we should separate," said Sprite, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm pretty sure of the reason you gathered us all," said Sersi, not finding it strange considering the current state of the world.

"But we have to say that we are truly incredible. It took two months for us to all gather," said Kingo cheerfully, a movie star who could shoot energy spheres from his hands.

"I gathered you because I discovered some things along with Ikaris," said Ajak, looking at Ikaris, who couldn't stop looking at Sersi, who was ignoring him.

"Firstly, there are traces of Deviants in Antarctica. Ikaris investigated, and Madripoor seized that place, so he didn't act immediately."

"The other reason is more obvious—the change in the world that we also found out was caused by Madripoor."

"So, I plan to communicate with Arishen to see what Madripoor's objective is and if we should interfere," said Ajak.

"You could have done that before we arrived and just told us what we had to do," said Druig with a stoic expression.

"That's what I'll do now," said Ajak, smiling slightly and closing her eyes.

The others just remained silent. After centuries apart, the atmosphere was somewhat uncomfortable among them.

Ajak's consciousness was taken to another place when she appeared in front of Arishem, a colossal red being.

"Ajak, is something wrong?" said Arishem, looking at the small silhouette in front of him.

"Arishem, there has been a significant change on Earth, so I hope you give me instructions on what to do," said Ajak respectfully.

"Tell me," said the Celestial.

"There are people who seem to emit the scent of Deviants and are protected by very powerful individuals."

Upon hearing her words, Arishem's thoughts paused for a moment, recalling events from the past, a little incredulous that those people still existed after the cataclysm that occurred.

"These same people who protect them created something they call a system. This system is connected to all people in the world, and I'm worried that there might be some adverse effects on them," said Ajak, expressing concern.

Arishem didn't respond verbally but extended his senses, using Ajak as a bridge and detecting the situation on Earth.

Immediately, he felt something trying to invade his being, causing him to resist. He soon tried to turn the situation around and destroy the origin of the influence, but to his surprise, he couldn't.

Perhaps if he presented himself, he could have the advantage, but in the current situation, he could only resist.

Seeing that he had no advantage, he quickly withdrew and looked at Ajak.

"Who are the ones who did this?" Arishem asked with a very serious voice.

"I don't really have much information, but there's a man named Damian. He's very powerful, so much so that I dare not send anyone. But I'm sure they shouldn't know about our existence," Ajak said honestly a bit scared upon hearing Arishem's serious voice.

"Although many say he's not human," Ajak added with doubt.

''...''

The Celestial wondered if she were serious. Obviously, a person who does that cannot be human.

"Soon, I will personally go to Earth to eliminate this variable. Don't do anything for now," Arishem said.

"Yes, sir," Ajak said, nodding before ending the connection with a worried expression.

She was worried about what this system would do to humans. She had come to genuinely love humans and didn't want them to be affected by the system, but she also didn't want them to be sacrificed for the birth of a celestial.

She had plans to betray Arishen and delay or even eliminate the celestial about to be born, but her plans went out of control with the appearance of the system.

"Well?" said Druig, looking at Ajak.

"Arishem will come to Earth to fix it. For now, we will stay together to quickly carry out any of his orders," said Ajak, looking at everyone.

"I have things to do, you know?" said Kingo, raising an eyebrow.

"Those are the orders," said Ajak, looking sternly at Kingo before looking at everyone else.

"At least, could we remodel this place? We can't all live here," sighed Kingo.

"Fine, then take care of that," said Ajak, nodding with a smile.

"Thena will need a somewhat secluded room," said Gilgamesh, looking at Kingo.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it," sighed Kingo before taking out his phone and making some calls.

Thena gave a smile to Gilgamesh before getting up and going for a walk, uncomfortable with having to be a burden.

"How nice, isn't it, Sprite?" said Sersi, looking at the little girl with a smile, knowing that her happiest times were when they were together.

Sprite just avoided her gaze, still having a slight smile, hoping that Arishem would take a long time to arrive.

...

"Heimdall, give me a report," said Odin, looking at Heimdall.

"This month the gods really haven't done anything out of the ordinary. Many gods around the world seem to be interacting with humans; in a few years, there will probably be a wave of demigods."

Odin's expression was truly unpleasant; in his opinion, Midgard was his. If other people lived in it, he didn't really care, but it was different when it came to other gods.

"They haven't attacked that man either, even though they captured Hercules. It's as if they don't care," said Heimdall, looking at his king who had changed completely.

"About Hela... she hasn't moved much. She seems to be recovering and learning about the world. She has shown a lot of interest in Damian, but it doesn't seem like she's going to approach him."

"Also, based on the relationship with Miss Jane and Thor, Damian shouldn't help Hela," said Heimdall, seeing his king's expression.

Odin just snorted annoyed. Now that his power had returned, it was time to act and bring some order.

He had spoken too much about peace, and maybe they had forgotten his power.

...

Damian appeared on the balcony of Stark Tower before tapping on the glass with a smile, catching the attention of the people inside.

"Hey, buddy, come in," said Tony, opening the glass door.

"Hello," said Damian, patting Tony's shoulder and entering. He had enough respect not to appear inside his friend's house.

"Uncle Damian," said Morgan, running immediately towards him.

"Little one, how are you? It seems you've gained some weight," said Damian, smiling and lifting the little girl.

"I'm big now; I'm 2 years old," said Morgan, extending two fingers.

"Wow, such a big girl," said Damian, smiling.

"Hello, Damian," said Pepper, coming out to greet.

"How are you?" said Damian, smiling at her.

"We're fine; soon the Stark family will be a great lineage of wizards," said Tony, arriving behind him and hugging his neck with a smile.

"Are you planning to give up your suits?" Damian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not, I can be a magical inventor. I've worked on several interesting things. I must say the world you created is fun," said Tony.

"But also dangerous, so don't let your guard down, especially with the gods," said Damian shaking his head, secretly pleased that at least his friend thought that way.

"Alright, if anyone bothers me, I'll just tell them your name," Tony joked.

"If you say my name, they won't kill you, but they'll probably invite you to stay with them," Damian laughed.

"Don't be so morbid," said Tony feeling chills at the thought of being captured by gods, especially Olympian gods; he was so handsome, what if he ended up liked by some god?

"Surely you would like to be surrounded by a bunch of gods praising you, right?" Pepper said, joking.

"Don't say something so frightening," said Tony uncomfortably.

"I think you'd be quite popular," Damian said, joining Pepper in joking.

"Daddy is very popular," Morgan agreed with an innocent smile that hurt Tony even more.

At that moment, Pepper received a message, so she apologized with a smile before getting up and leaving.

At that moment, Morgan approached Damian and placed a plush toy in his hand before looking at him intensely.

Damian slightly pursed his lips, amused by the look she was giving him before enchanting the plush toy.

The plush toy soon jumped out of his hand and started running around the place.

Morgan gave a little joyful scream before starting to chase the plush toy.

"I really envy your tricks to entertain children," Tony said, laughing.

"I taught you how to do it; how are you with that?" Damian asked, looking at Tony.

"I memorized all the runes on the first day, but I'm having some trouble infusing my magic into the runes," Tony said, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair.

"After all, your magic is pathetically low," Damian said with a mocking smile.

"Screw you," Tony said helplessly with the situation.

"And how are you doing with Extremis?" Damian asked, looking at Tony.

"Well... it's on hold. If it's as you say and links you to something, I'm hesitant to use it. The price of using it might limit me in the future," Tony said, looking at Damian.

"You're right, you should think it over," Damian said, nodding.

"It's tempting to gain power easily; my magic doesn't grow that fast," Tony said, smiling ironically.

"You're worrying about irrelevant things; don't let magic make you deviate from your path. Are you Iron Man or a wizard?" Damian asked, looking at him.

"You're right; it's just that magic is fascinating," Tony said, sighing.

"Come on, man, don't get discouraged; there's a lot of time ahead. I'm sure you'll be a decent wizard if that's what you want," Damian said, patting his shoulder.

Tony just pursed his lips; still, he had to admit that Damian was right. He was letting himself be tempted by magic.

"Food's here; let's move to the table," said Pepper, arriving with a person behind her who brought a food cart.

They both stood up before sitting at the table with Pepper and Morgan.

They had trivial conversations and enjoyed each other's company before Damian returned home.

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