บท 161: Ch.46
I clearly hadn't been paying enough attention to my businesses because Matt Murdock had requested a leave of absence a few months back a from what Grim reported, he was taking out bad guys as a masked vigilante.
He'd even taken down Fisk and been dubbed the Daredevil. Grim fortunately, was paying attention and kept the police from figuring him out as well as gave him ample leeway to do both jobs.
Coulson for all intents and purposes took my advice and put the would be senior agents starting the coupe in their place by reminding them that Shield had not and will never fall but was in fact stronger than ever as demonstrated by the one hundred agents that went through the Steve Rogers protocol as he called it, as well as the twenty agents that were singled out as potential mutants and had their powers unlocked.
I'd had to help teach them in them in the weeks prior to their reveal, but it was effective as most of them had very useful powers including invisibility and super hearing. Only three had very noticeable mutations and those were easily covered up with an illusion watch I made for them.
One had three eyes and was green. Another had four arms and a tail and the last had grown insect like wings as well as a poison barbed tail. The rest could easily hide any mutations or showed no outward signs but a curious bunch of quintuplets had telepathic and when together, massive telekinetic abilities.
With no outward signs, they became Coulson's secret weapons to weed out traitors and liars. With such an instant massive force and the promise to make all Shield agents willing to go through with it, super, the resistant few had no real grounds to stand on.
They really couldn't complain about the super soldier serum as Shield itself was looking for a duplicate long before Hydra became a real issue. Now that he was able to deliver on that promise and so much more, the only real problem they had was that he was keeping secrets from everyone and that was solved by him showing them and telling them how the contracts worked as well as showing his own contract.
That both alleviated their fears and horrified them that something like it existed. He went on for tell them it was me who gave them to him and Hill before him and that's when he summoned me to help alleviate their fears further.
I hadn't done much but I assured them there were only exceptions for those leaving Shield who would then sign a non-disclosure agreement contract with the same clause.
After shutting down any more of their shit and promising super soldier serums to all willing agents as well as agreeing to build them a training room and AI matrix like my own to manage their training regimens and help teach them about their powers, I had to draw the line at simply letting them have the serum.
I told them coldly. "I may trust Coulson and a select few Shield agents, but someone needs to keep you all in check and I'd rather not risk something so dangerous being given to idiots prone to mutiny. Try and take it by force or stealth, I dare you. You'll find out why even Banner calls me the strongest Avenger."
I turned to Coulson. "I honestly almost feel bad for you if these are Shield's best and brightest."
He hummed before asking. "How's the edge project coming along?"
I smiled. "It's completed. All it needs is your own forces to expand to what they were before. Just remember all of the suits are DNA locked and will prevent tampering or studying by imploding into scrap metal."
He nodded. "And the rest?"
I sighed. "I was kind of hoping for a challenge but you give me such easy problems. You've full environmental regulators and all suits, ships and carriers have been made both submersible and space worthy. As for the finale, project Atlantis is a go."
"You'll find it's location only possible to locate with said ships, suits and carriers. I'm still working on project Atlas but that's only a time issue and not an actual challenge."
He nodded and it tapped his spacial ring before saying. "Good luck and bring me some decent lobsters when you're done with your house warming party."
He chuckled and promised as I portaled away while watching from the mirror dimension and he turned to the listening senior agents. "Since you all wish to keep me in check, so be it. I'm offering you the chance to be my advisors. You can agree to this or there's the door."
He waited and finally they all agreed before he continued. "Very well then. As my advisors let me catch you up to speed. Shield has been too public and messy ever since New York and while it was necessary and needed to spark the end of Hydra, our work is best done in the shadows."
He sighed and pulled up a monitor they all turned to. "To that end I have asked Dark to build us secret bases with both technology and magic, something I myself have been reluctant to believe until an Asgardian sorceress came down and tried ensnaring an army with her voice alone."
He cleared his throat as they quieted and he continued. "Three bases with three specific outcomes. The first is Project Atlantis which is as you can guess, an underwater city base capable of housing and running with a million agents at once. It only needs a thousand to run properly. It's location is shielded by both cloaking devices and magic to prevent all access except by special Shield helicarriers, quintets and Iron Man like suits Dark has provided. Once you leave the base you're then magically compelled and unable to forget it's location and details unless on or in one of those three specific vessels."
They were all gobsmacked but the bald one asked. "And are we to believe Dark is just going to give such a base and it's vessels away?"
Coulson smiled. "He already has. He was just informing me of where to locate them. Now, onto project Atlas. It's a moon base and is again, only accessible by Shield carrier's, quinjets and Iron warriors as they're being called. All were especially modified for both space and submersible occasions. Both bases are modified to not need a new power source for the next ten thousand years and are equipped with automatic defenses only accessible by the director of Shield and the new Fleet Commander of Sword, Shield's counterpart and our weapon against alien threats."
He showed them a live feed of Sword battleships Fury is running as well as city ships while Fury popped up on the side screen. "I'll take it from here Coulson."
He nodded and Fury told them. "Following the battle of New York, Dark approached me with a question about a sister program we'd intended to start alongside Shield but our space program never really measured up until now. He gave me the opportunity and I took it, to be the weapon and counter strike to anyone dumb enough to attack earth. The Chitauri invasion was a wake up call and as such he has provided Sword with both the funding and high tech space ships to strike back at anyone willing to attack us."
He showed them the fleet again before the ten or so ships were slowly expanding in number as many more revealed themselves. He continued. "Two hundred of the galaxy's strongest battle ships along with five city ships and a hand full of seed ships to plant portals on all habitable and known planets, only accessible by our ship's technology. We will soon have a way to travel to three galaxies and strike back at anyone attacking us with devastating effects. Ladies and gentlemen, we are Sword and we're here to help."
The same bald man asked. "And how can we be sure that funding doesn't make you or us Dark's personal army enforcers?"
Fury snorted. "Because unlike you all, I read the fine print. It's true I signed the first contract after I quit Shield, but Sword was and always will be an independent organization. Besides, someone like Dark who can provide us with this level of technology doesn't need to use tricks. If he wanted a personal army he could just buy one instead of doing all this."
Coulson thanked Fury for his candor and turned off the live feds before announcing. "The final and last project, project Tartarus, is an underground prison facility with all the bells and whistles and no need for human interference. The AI Dark is building us will run the facility so that we risk nothing. It's all based on crystal technology and as a precaution there will be no exits available and only one entrance."
"It is meant to hold even Hulk sized problems and is a power dampening facility that turns even Thor and Banner into common people. No super soldier strength, inhuman or mutant abilities and not even the enhanced abilities. Nothing works down there and it will stay that way as there's no way out. I'm assured not even magic is accessible down there as well."
They were gobsmacked once more. Finally agent Tomas Calderon, the bald man with a lot of pointed questions asked. "So out of all this, Shield gained two bases and a more secure prison?"
Coulson sighed. "Add to that fifty Helicarriers, five hundred quinjets and one thousand iron warrior suits, all with both space and submersible capabilities as well as cloaking and shielding and yes, that's the upgrades provided by Mr.Dark. Although he's also allowing us to use his personal training room while he builds us one as well as giving us super soldier and mutant upgrades and providing us with enough terragen crystals to turn all our people into the worlds first real super power."
Putting things into perspective really showed them they were barking up the wrong tree and solidified Coulson's standing with them all. I closed the mirror portal and went back to training while my house elves installed the magical and technologically advanced danger room as the X-Men call it, for Shield.
With that and the completed AI core they'd install afterwards, Shield would be at full peak performance in no time. As for the bases, I'd already finished building them but they simply didn't have the manpower to run it all at once for now.
On the downside the Tartarus project was a pain in the ass because I was basically making it immune to even my powers albeit to a limited degree as in theory I'd be able to over power the wards if absolutely necessary.
On the brighter side I knew how it worked and while it made escape impossible no matter the powered individual or ability, as the real prison in on mars, I could survive and get back by simply overpowering the wards and machines before flying through space, teleporting or even portaling home.
Only Coulson and Fury knew of it's real whereabouts and understood the safety protocols in place would make sure all the inmates died before the complex was ever taken or broken out of. With that in mind, the portal to the complex wasn't hard to make as it was one way and on a completely different frequency as the gate system.
It worked via massive teleportation through an unstable vortex while the stargate system was built on stable wormhole technology. I built a protocol into it that prevented any other gate from dialing in and locked it into the coordinates of the prison.
By April I'd finished it and sent the information to Fury and Coulson so that they could send anyone to dangerous to be housed on earth through the portal. Inmates were taken by specialized bots once they arrived and given a windowless cell where they were to stay at all times. Both bars and shields as well as wards prevented them from escaping.
Each cell had it's own dedicated sentry not targeted to the individual and three more besides to deliver food, wash clothes and sheets and activate the showers. Each of them were also equipped with targeting systems and weapons as well.
A free roaming bot would go from cell to cell, preaching if the inmates asked for it and another twenty would give psychiatric help one at a time to those who clearly needed it. The food was generated through a molecular enzyme processor meant to synthesize it and the water wasn't really water but power inhibiting nanites that cleaned their bodies of all thinks not meant to be their including dead skin,sweat and grime.
It was safe enough to drink for the idiots as it would pass out through their waste, all the while, inhibiting their powers further. Even Magneto would find them quite impossible to influence in any way as everything from the clothes on their bodies to the pillows, walls, bars and even air was designed to inhibit and neutralize powers.
The technology was tamper proof and the wards would defend themselves and the bars with force if necessary. It truly was a masterpiece of a place and one designed to contain even the worst being out their like Thanos, should he be taken alive.
I dare say even Rocket Raccoon and Groot would find it impossible to break out of and at best be killed if they managed to puncture through the barriers to the outside. The whole facility was made of Gradium covered in another substance called Nanominium as well so even that was a huge leap for them.
Nanominium was discovered by the British men of letter- I mean MI-13. They're the Avengers for Britain or something and it's gloss form was found to have anti-magical properties as well as being nearly as durable as Captain America's vibranium shield from before.
Cap's new Gradium shield however was a whole different story especially since even that was glossed after Natasha discovered the stuff on mission. Even Stark and Hawkeye were using it nowadays to protect against magical threats. Speaking of magical threats, Wanda, Pietro and Eric showed up at the house on April fools day and asked about unlocking their powers.
I agreed but put it in stipulation that they use them on me immediately after I unlock each one so that I may mimic them and so long as they never targeted Tony Stark or anyone he cares about over their perceived slights. I even showed them the contracts they'd have to sign for it.
They were reluctant at first until I assured them it indeed was Obadiah Stane who had been selling off Stark weapons under the table and it was also the reason Tony was so against it all. They agreed and I warned Eric. "If you're using them for an anti human campaign, just know that I will put you down and lock them away in a hole so deep, they'd die before seeing light or each other ever again. You're well aware I can back my words Eric."
He nodded solemnly. "This is entirely their decisions and has nothing to do with mutants other than ourselves."
I sighed and turned to Pietro, raising a hand. I unlocked the mutant part of him and augmented it like the staff would've before releasing him. I told him coldly. "You're a speedster. Every molecule in your body must be feeling alive right now. You'll need high calorie foods and lots of them from now on."
I waved a hand. "Show me what you got kid, and I'll show you how to use your powers."
He moved and I lost track of him until my eyes caught up. He was dancing around me before landing a punch. I sent him flying back into the mats and held up a hand, stopping the other two. "Relax, I had to send him backwards to prevent his arm from shattering. My body is hard and he would've taken a long while to heal, even for a speedster. He should be fine other than being smarted."
As if on cue he got up and rubbed his ass, where he landed. After a second he ran again but this time I smirked and followed with the same speeds. I showed him how to build up kinetic electricity and throw it like lightning as well as to punch at just the right angle as to shatter every bone in a persons body in one blow without injuring yourself.
Next, I sent him to the dining room to eat as he'd burned a lot of calories. I turned to Wanda now. "You do know this is permanent right? If I do this, it would not be undone even by me. I can at best suppress your powers for a time until they come back later on."
She nodded. "I want this."
Sighing I raised my hand and unlocked hers as well as augmented it before lowering my hand. "It's done. Yours is a magic of sorts that comes from a realm of chaos. Be very careful with it."
She blasted me back into the wall and I groaned until my mimicking powers was done and I too had a connection to the same chaos realm. I smacked when she tried to do more and shook my head. "Sorry darlin, but it's a one trick pony when used against me. It'll work on other things but for now, I have a recommendation for you."
Turned to my left and saw the ancient one coming out of a portal. I nodded to her and she turned to Wanda. "You've just begun to tap into your capabilities. There are few as gifted in the Mystic Arts as yourself and even fewer that use them for good. What he's recommending and what I'm offering is that I train you personally so that you may learn to control your abilities without harming yourself or the world. There's a special school in Nepal called Kathmandu, it is a safe haven for magical practitioners and like you'll find, we accept all comers as everyone has the potential for magic."
She turned to Eric. "Even you and Pietro, I'd you choose to learn, can train with her in that safe environment. We also teach mystical combat skills and many languages."
Eric looked for me and I nodded. "They've been defending all of mankind, mutant kind and innocents for over ten thousand years when it was founded by Agamotto, their first leader, and me. You'll find many things about this world and universe are not so black and white as mutant and human. Soon enough, there will be little difference either way."
He grunted and turned to Wanda and sighed. "I'll go wherever you and your brother go."
She turned to the ancient one and nodded. "I'd like that then."
I coughed after Pietro and their family went through the portal the ancient one opened and held out a book. "I've completed it."
Her eyes went wide and took the book before saying. "If this is truly all the magic of the known universe, then you've done more for the mystical community then ever before."
I waved her off and tapped my forehead saying. "It's all but the truly dangerous stuff. That stuff is still locked away here."
She nodded before leaving with the book and I returned to my physical training under immense gravity. I'd taken a blood sample of Pietro's and I'd soon as his power as a natural ability of my own instead of relying on magic to make up for it.
In the meantime, I increased the weight to a thousand times the earth's gravity and went up from there as my body slowly adapted and my muscles grew denser and much more compact. While I trained relentlessly, Natasha was doing random assignments and helping Jessica out with her PI work she did as a hobby as well as spent more time with her.
They were growing closer fast and while I didn't mind it, it did make me hesitant to fully open up to Jessica. She was good and nice and a little surly but I know that if I open up and things go bad, Natasha will be hurt just as bad from the backlash for wanting it so much. That's not to mention my own emotional pain I wasn't fond of toiling in.
So I forebear for now and relish the little moments of their happiness and the looks in their eyes when they're satisfied with both me and each other. Not to mention the really wild sex I hadn't had since Buffy and Faith learned I was an animal in the sack and decided to let loose.
Just thinking about my wives hurt worse then the twenty thousand times earths gravity bearing down on me so I brought it up once more with a thought. My body seemed to reach a plateau at around twenty five thousand times earths gravity and for some reason I passed out of I tried to force it more.
I was able to stand up, walk and even run around physically for a few minutes so I had to assume it was a stamina issue. I turned off the chamber for now and went to the lab to add Pietro's physical abilities to my own. His hair had taken on a silver-ish sheen and so did mine a bit after I included his mutant gene sequence into my already mutated genome.
I felt alive all over and heard my mother sigh as I felt another great physical change and my body altered a bit, growing taller than my already six foot to six five. My muscles bulged for a bit before compressing down and the pain was something else as my body took on the magical and physical additions of my body from the Percy Jackson/ Sleepy Hollow/Lucifer/White Collar/National Treasure reality.
My body felt Damn good while my magic surged in my blood once more. My skin shined golden for a second as it was directly taking on the golden apple ichor traits because my blood was still in flux from the added demigod, Angel and god traits.
Fiery green wings sprouted from my back and I groaned as I took a knee from the pain. My eyes changed a bit as instead of a black pupil, mine turned green. The red iris and sclera staid though though a golden band etched into the edge of the iris, separating it from the sclera.
When I felt I was more in control, I put away my wings and repaired my training clothes. My body was now seven times denser than a normal peak humans like Steve Rogers from the feel of it and my estimation. I knew that the next one would be my tales of demons and gods physique and by all accounts it should unlock my inner realm where the magical beasts were as well as Nicholas, Newt and their family, the goblins, werewolves and vampires.
I flexed my muscles and magic, looking for my limit and gaged myself at an elder god's strength both physically and magically. I was far from Knull's equal as I pictured him at the very top of the elder gods but I was also certain it wouldn't be long until I reached there, I hope. As it was I left the training room after learning not to break things and people again with a touch.
My blood was basically liquid magic with DNA at this point so I began temporarily draining it into the massive ward stones under the sanctums. Not the blood, but the magic that would eventually refill from my connections to both the chaos realm, Darkforce realm and the natural magic my body absorbed.
I let it be and went to find the girls for a night on the town after grabbing a shower and fresh clothes. I found them at Jessica's PI office talking to Trish Walker, Jessica's adopted sister and radio talk show host when I appeared. Trish nearly fell over in fright while Jessica asked. "What happened?"
I shrugged. "Improvements in my training. I've also added a few powers to my collection including speed-"
I moved and appeared to them sitting next to Natasha. "-and my magical abilities have grown a great deal as well. I've no fear of fighting another Chitauri army any time soon and my other issues on physical exhaustion are settled permanently. My stamina loves, is right up there with the energizer bunny."
Natasha rolled her eyes and Jessica smirked. "We'll have to test that some time."
I chuckled. "Love, you couldn't handle me before, now there's no way your keeping up. Though I love to see you both try."
I turned to Trish Walker. "Ahh, where are my manners, I'm Dark, Creed Dark. You must be Trish Walker, Jessica's sister?"
She collected herself and nodded. "I am. Aren't you another avenger? The mutant?"
I chuckled. "Mutant is the least of what I am but yes, I am that as well. My mutant power is telepathy and telekinesis as well as being a speedster, as you've just witnessed. Well, really my power is that I can mimic the power of others and become immune to them. But that's a secret, so don't tell anyone."
I winked at her and Jessica rolled her eyes. "Don't think about it lover boy, she's taken and I don't do four ways with family."
I chuckled. "Relax, it's just harmless flirting and you're the only one that isn't Natasha here, that I'd think of like that as of right now."
She blushed a bit and Natasha put her hand on my thigh while smiling. They filled me in on their suspicions about IGH. An off the books science lab that was responsible for Jessica's powers.
I had Shadow compile a file on it and leak it to the news all around the world. "Done! IGH is officially toast and so are there people. It was an off the books black ops research facility with ties to the military. It'll be shut down by dinner time and I'm sure Shield will dismantle it before erasing minds or some such. Either way they can handle it, trust me."
I turned the conversation asking. "Do you ladies feel like going out for dinner? I know this great restaurant that's owned by a friend. She started it up a couple years ago with her sister and husband."
They agreed and I portaled over the armored electric SUV to the office before driving us to the restaurant called P4. It had great music, a bar and quiet privacy booths.
As soon as Piper saw me, she sent over the waiter to take our orders and wait patiently as he was our personal waiter for tonight. I chuckled when I saw it was Henry. "How's it going? Have you found Prue or Neal yet?"
He shook his head. "Leo's our there now searching. We take shifts so as not to anger the sisters."
I sighed. "It's better than what I've been doing at least. You wouldn't survive my training regimen or the constant troubles that pop up, at least not yet anyways. I'll stop by the manor in a day or two to boost each of your abilities."
He nodded and the girls gave their orders after a few minutes and some poking to get Trish to not stare at Henry too much. When she gave her order, I ordered a steak, rare and a house special for specials.
He was surprised a bit asking. "Already?"
I grinned. "Yeah, I got it today. Turn on the news will you, I'm sure the girls want to see IGH go up in flames."
He did so and a hologram popped up in the center of the table where the current live news feed was being played. While we ate, we watched shield agents in iron warrior suits that looked like my own except with the Shield emblem on them, take down the black ops rouge science division.
A group of powered fighters fought back but in the end, even the strongest, a female, was taken down and carted off to be assessed. She'd killed and admitted to killing dozens and while she refused to give her name, she was still sentenced to a new secure facility of Shield's.
The scientists would be debriefed and scanned for truth before being either locked up or getting a job at Shield. The enhanced were only temporarily so, so they'd be flushed of drugs and evaluated before being let go if they were innocents.
All in all it was a good clean take down with Shield getting good publicity. I knew already that the woman was in fact Jessica's mother and also a psychopath. Not that it was her fault, but it was a serious problem. Later that night after dropping off Trish, I took Jessica and Natasha to Atlantis with my own personal suits.
When we arrived and passed through the barrier, we docked and went to the detention center where the prisoners were held until being sent to Tartarus. Jessica asked what it was about and I told her it all including being here to try and fix her mother's mind if I could and if not where she'd end up for the rest of her life as she was simply too dangerous and volatile to go free especially with the blood on her hands.
It was a hard blow but she understood as I'd been contacted by Coulson during the meal. She spoke with her mother and I entered the woman's mind, trying to heal the fractured psyche but in the end the danger was too great. Even magic had it's limits when it came to the mind.
I shook my head backing away. "The damage isn't too extensive and varied. Not even the T.A.H.I.T.I. Program could do anything for her as her psyche is compartmentalized and fractured too greatly. Whatever they did to her was more than drugs or mind control. They broke her mind into pieces and built it up like that. It would kill her or at best make her brain dead if I forced the issue."
Coulson nodded grimly before saying. "Then we have no choice, Tartarus it is. She's too dangerous and powerful especially if she has the ability to fly as well."
Jessica was crying while Natasha held her and her mother came out of her daze and began attacking the force-fielded bars of the cell in a rampage. Shaking my head I held up a hand. "Sleep."
She instantly fell to sleep and I pulled both girls away and took the back to the condo. A couple days later, after stopping by the manor to boost Piper and the rest's powers, we went to Atlantis and to the pit the portal was in. Alisa Jones was the first inmate to be sent to Tartarus after Jessica said goodbye to her now dosed up mother.
She was docile and sadly smiling when she said her goodbyes to Jessica. I held Jessica with Natasha when they lowered her in and reassured her that it was just a portal to an undisclosed location where she'd be safe to live out the remainder of her days with all the amenities she could want including a special hologram communication she alone would be allowed to speak to Jessica with and vice versa.
I handed Jessica a wristband that allowed for the communication back and forth when she was settled in. Books and movies would be provided on a cell by cell basis and so long as Alisa wasn't in the middle of an episode, she'd receive guest like treatment.
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