Building a Legion Needs a Good Start

Building a Legion Needs a Good Start

"I know. I was prepared to face this reality long before I chose to act." Duva looked at Iron Man, who stood at a distance and remained on guard.

He could easily imagine that Iron Man had already brought every high-tech weapon in his armor to bear, ready to attack him at any moment.

"So calm. Who do you think you are, a superhero? Or some brilliant entrepreneur with government funding, an excellent biologist?" Tony's voice came through the armor.

Duva pondered for a moment. "Actually, I do have some experience when it comes to entrepreneurship. Look at these outstanding little fellows—beautiful and captivating. Aren't they my finest calling card?"

Little fellows? Tony instinctively looked at the Xenomorphs behind Duva, his gaze lingering in silence on the four-meter-tall Abomination Xenomorph.

He came to a conclusion about Duva: an arrogant, irritating fellow who seized every chance in public to flaunt his talents without restraint.

Proud people sometimes disliked their own kind even more.

For a moment, Tony thought of someone he had run into before. The man seemed to have trouble with his legs—what was his name, Guderian? He claimed to have extraordinary research results and had desperately strutted before Tony like a peacock in courtship, even though Tony found the whole display laughably childish.

Who didn't know that Tony Stark was a super genius? The people trying to curry favor with him every day could fill every burger joint in New York.

"Only people without confidence in themselves go out of their way to find a stage and tell everyone exactly how powerful they are," Tony said. "You and the big guy behind you caused the second disturbance tonight. Someone will come looking for trouble."

"Hold me accountable? I was clearly acting in defense of justice. I took down Deviants who had been lurking among humanity and committing all manner of evil. The public's cheers are my greatest reward."

Tony felt that this guy's mental fortitude was truly impressive—calm to a frightening degree, and more than capable of matching Tony himself when it came to shamelessness.

What concerned Tony even more was the word "Deviants."

"Jarvis."

"Sir, after secondary information filtering, I located seven suspicious documents. However, every one of them is locked, and I am unable to access them. Based on the technical measures used, the organizations suspected of possessing information on the Deviants are S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. China Branch, the Ten Rings Gang, the Brotherhood, Atlantis...," Jarvis reported faithfully.

Tony's heart skipped a beat. This was only what Jarvis had uncovered by gathering information worldwide. What about everything it had failed to find?

What exactly were the so-called Deviants... a branch of humanity similar to mutants or Inhumans? "All right, I have to admit it—you successfully diverted my attention."

Tonight, he had been given no small shock. Any one of the people who had made a move could have easily crushed him and his armor together.

"Your armor is too weak. Its limitations are too great. It needs improvement. Maybe you could make different models specifically for different enemies—consider that paid advice. One hundred thousand dollars. Remember to transfer it into my account. No need to thank me."

After tossing out those words, Duva turned and left with his Xenomorphs. He would return to his lair on the outskirts of New York.

"I need to develop Mark 4 as soon as possible. Even Mark 5, Mark 6... no, maybe just as he said, I can create different armor specifically for different situations..."

Tony had Jarvis record and analyze every scrap of information on the Xenomorphs, especially the Abomination Xenomorph.

Creating a set of armor specifically designed to deal with such a monster did not seem like a bad idea.

"Jarvis, transfer the money to him. The amount is... one hundred thousand and one dollars! That extra dollar is a tip from the infinitely charming Mr. Tony Stark. But that price really isn't cheap. I could have thought of that myself, and now I have to pay for it!" Tony grumbled.

The chaos and fighting of that night finally came to an end.

For most people, it had been a dangerous and bewildering night. They saw several monsters suddenly appear and fight, then it all ended in utter confusion.

Other than witnessing the military's incompetence, the public seemed unable to do anything. Yet global public opinion had already exploded, pushing everyone with special abilities into the eye of the storm.

As always, the internet began cursing mutants and loudly promoting the theory that mutants were a threat. Experts of every kind took turns appearing on television, solemnly discussing mutants as though mutants had truly done something outrageous on Broadway.

The entire world was like a colossal vortex already spinning. Though it was only a matter of time before it plunged into the abyss beneath the sea, Duva's appearance was equivalent to giving the whole world—and those capable of influencing it—a vicious kick, accelerating the process.

Duva sat on the Abomination Xenomorph's shoulder and calmly returned to his residence beneath the watch of countless satellites in the sky.

The words Weiland Private Research Institute still hung high above the building. People had once treated this place as a joke, but not anymore. No matter how unofficial the name sounded, it no longer would be.

Abomination's death and the birth of the Abomination Xenomorph, with power far surpassing Abomination's, could not help but draw attention.

The creatures known as Xenomorphs were also being secretly studied and coveted by countless people at every level.

These creatures were simply extraordinary. Throughout all of human history, throughout the entire Earth, nothing like them had ever appeared. They seemed capable of taking the power of mature individuals for themselves and growing even stronger from that foundation? Duva led his Xenomorphs back unimpeded to the dilapidated building, even greeting Dum Dum Dugan in the neighboring building.

"You won't have the chance to be as idle as you are now for much longer. All kinds of people will come looking for you." Dum Dum Dugan hesitated. Under normal circumstances, he should have taken Duva back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for brainwashing and training, or at the very least detained him long-term to prevent him from causing social unrest.

But as things stood, that would be very, very difficult.

When Duva had not been as troublesome as he was now, S.H.I.E.L.D. had not paid much attention to him. By the time they noticed his talent and the terror of the Xenomorphs, it seemed somewhat too late to recruit him or make a move against him.

Duva ignored Dum Dum Dugan.

Reaching this point had been inevitable. Duva knew full well that the only beings he could trust absolutely were the Xenomorphs. Naturally, he had to seize every opportunity to grow and strengthen the power under his control.

But organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. would surely find every way to restrict Duva's growth, keeping the Xenomorph population within a relatively safe and controllable range. They might even simply seize control of or kill every Xenomorph in one stroke, including Duva himself.

This was the most fundamental conflict. There was absolutely no possibility of reconciliation.

"The Warrior Xenomorph born from parasitizing Abomination is only the beginning. In the future, more powerful Xenomorphs like this will come under my command... I won't stop growing stronger. Likewise, others won't stop just because I do. Since that's the case, I might as well keep my head down and walk all the way to the end."