Chapter 288: Symbiote 0288: Final Stretch (1/4)

Symbiote 0288: Final Stretch (1/4)

By the time everything wrapped up, Cindy was barely conscious. He slipped her out of her restraints and put her in the bed to allow her to rest up after the intense reward session.

Soon, morning came along and Cindy woke up completely refreshed. She was surprised for a few seconds when she realized that she was freed from her restraints, followed by blushing embarrassedly after recalling the events of the previous night.

[Move to Stark Tower. It’s time to lure your past demons out and take care of them once and for all.]

“I will,” she nodded before getting out of bed. Her choker extended down her naked body and quickly formed Alex’s Venomized version of her Silk outfit as she walked out of the warehouse. Shooting a web at a nearby building, she instantly took to the air, swinging through the city to quickly reach the concrete forest that was downtown Manhattan.

…

Stark Tower.

“You guys will have another member joining your team,” Alex told the two Neo Avengers who remained after everyone else had been dismissed. They had all been told to continue their previous operations without any changes.

“Mister … Apex, I believe you have read our files. We don’t particularly work well with others,” one of them said. He was a man of African-American descent but his entire body was covered under a cloak, leaving only his face visible. His physical features gave an odd feeling as if nothing was under the cloak, and it was merely held up by an ethereal power other than the man’s body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I have read them and also talked to Strange about your situation. But you two will be the perfect people for the operation. Both of your powers work very well in conjunction with each other and will allow you to hold Shang Chi back for just long enough until I and the others can make a move.”

“Since it’s so important, we should just agree. This is what we joined this team for, didn’t we?” The second member of the duo spoke up. She, unlike the ghostly man, was starkly angelic. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she seemed to radiate an ethereal aura of light that gave the illusion of a halo of light behind her.

“Fine,” the ghostly male agreed begrudgingly.

“Don’t be so concerned. I’m sure you will get along with Silk,” Alex crossed his arms and spoke, keeping another thought to himself.

‘It’s a spider person. I’m sure they’ll get along.’

As they waited, their third team member was escorted up to the main hall.

“There she is,” Alex nodded to Cindy.

“I’m happy to be here, sir,” she acted the part of an overenthusiastic hero, ready to do good.

“Your past track record isn’t that well hidden, Silk,” Alex chuckled. “You don’t need to pretend. Once this mission is over, you will receive your agreed-upon reward.”

“As long as it’s clear,” Silk’s demeanor changed as she nodded stiffly.

“Now, go on, you three are already late. You have ten sites to check,” Alex hurried them along and was finally left alone in the huge hall.

He sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

‘How tiresome …’

He wasn’t talking about the situation with Shang-Chi. That one was still relatively mellow compared to some of the other things he was dealing with at the moment.

…

Two days passed and things were going by normally. All of the smaller teams among the Neo Avengers continued to dismantle the bombs that Shang-Chi’s people were actively planting, continuing the stalemate.

No one particularly stood out for now and everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

“I don’t think it’s working,” Emma Frost spoke up.

The Illuminati had convened to discuss a further plan of action.

“We need to wait,” Alex said. “Cindy is a trap that Shang-Chi will walk into willingly even if he knows about it.”

“Why would he be so stupid?” Tony asked.

“Just the correct mixture of arrogance, pride, and confidence in his backing,” Alex said. “Wouldn’t you also feel invincible if you had the power to utilize the powers of two Infinity Stones at your behest without any accompanying costs?”

“How can you be so sure that there are no accompanying costs?” Dr. Strange asked. “I have used the Time Stone in the past, and I had to channel its power through the Mystic Arts, lest the mere weight of that power obliterate me.”

“Because I have seen him use the Reality Stone at no cost to himself. Not to mention, you shouldn’t underestimate Scarlet Angel. With her command over her Chaos Magic, she can perform nonsensical feats that completely defy reality.”

“Sometimes I wish to believe that you are merely bluffing … trying to make her threat seem more than it actually is,” King T’Challa spoke with a defeated sigh. “Sadly, I have seen with my own two eyes the decimation she brings wherever she goes.”

“You don’t know the half of it. And this was going to happen sooner or later. The emergence of certain characters whose ambitions blanket reality. She’s not the only one who has the ambition to either take over this cluster or destroy it.”

A somber mood pervaded through the room, bringing a heavy silence with it.

“But you don’t need to worry. The ones who can bring that kind of an onslaught won’t. For now. They are all wary of the Celestials. After all, Earth itself is the germination site of a Celestial. If someone kills all of the planet’s inhabitants or outright destroys it, it can lead to a Celestial taking action. Even with the Infinity Stones, they would be hard-pressed to endure the incoming retaliation.”

“And you won’t?” Emma Frost spoke up. “You are also taking over planet after planet, trying to bring them all under your banner. Aren’t you afraid of the retaliation of these celestial beings?”

“Celestials,” Alex corrected, “with a capital C. They are one of the foremost races of the universe, having existed since before the birth of this Firmament, responsible for the creation of the multitude of universes, but I’m getting ahead of myself. To answer your query, I have my own plans to deal with the germinating celestial inside this planet. But you can rest assured, I won’t allow this Earth to spontaneously explode due to a planetary life form emerging from the inside of your planet.”

A sigh from Doctor Strange pulled everyone’s attention to himself. “He speaks the truth. There are records hidden in the deepest recesses of the history of the Sorcerers. They mention these Celestials. Gods of unfathomable depths. They were the first wielders of the Infinity Stones and shaped reality as we know it. They are the gods that life itself originates from.”

“Don’t look so glum, everyone. For now, you should just put your faith in me and patiently wait for my plans to come to fruition.”

…

That night.

“It’s not working,” Alex sighed.

“What isn’t?” Gwen asked from his side. They were cuddling on the couch while watching a movie.

“Shang-Chi isn’t taking the bait,” Alex said. “Either he’s moved on or he’s preparing something. I don’t have the patience to wait for it.”

“Then why don’t we break into his base? We could take the fight to him.”

“Too risky,” Alex shook his head. “With the Reality Stone in his hand, he can easily modify any environment to his will. Who knows what he has prepared if we decide to break into his base? I know he can’t do anything to me or you, but I can’t protect the entire city or even the entire state if he decides to take everything down with him in a massive explosion.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Something that I’m still hesitant about …” Alex said. “He not only has access to the Reality Stone but also the Mind Stone. I’m concerned about how much of the Mind Stone’s authority I need to channel to affect his mind.”

“You’re thinking of manipulating him into coming out in the open …” Gwen said.

“Yes. But I need to do it quickly enough that he doesn’t have any time to summon the authority of the Mind Stone to protect his mind. Emma Frost already failed when she tried to infiltrate his mind. Even though Scarlet Angel is too busy to pay too much attention to Shang-Chi, me using my fragment of the Mind Stone to infiltrate his mind is bound to alert her.”

"I don’t know if it will work … but what about empowering Emma Frost’s abilities to attack Shang-Chi? Maybe she can do it.”

“No can do. I don’t trust her enough to not turn around and attack me in her empowered state. I’ll just weather through the cost and overpower Shang-Chi before he has the time to call upon his connection to the Stone.”

“How do you know so much about him?” Gwen couldn’t help but ask. “I know for a fact that you aren’t constantly monitoring him. So how are you so sure about his preparations? The whole thing about him not actually having the stones … his plans to blow the state to oblivion in case all else fails. How do you know so much?”

“I have my sources,” Alex smiled, not divulging any more information.

“Fine then, keep your secrets,” she huffed.

Alex kissed the side of her face before closing his eyes. Deciding to use the Mind Stone.