American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

There are no absolute secrets among the higher-ups, especially with S.H.I.E.L.D. currently at a critical juncture, under intense scrutiny. Anything Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. try to do will be analyzed. The only entity that could rival S.H.I.E.L.D. for attention at this time is Luke's Hephaestus.

However, Hephaestus, which used to frequently share the limelight with Stark, has surprisingly become quiet. Even finding Ena Sandra, who used to be a regular in the media, in any publication has become quite difficult.

Norman Osborn was one such observer.

Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recent measures regarding mutants had touched a nerve. Although the official line was that they were helping mutants regain their lives, and they presented corresponding results, he felt something was hidden, and the situation wasn't as glorious as it seemed.

As a veteran tycoon, he might not be as advanced in technology as Stark and Hephaestus, but his network of connections was not lacking. Even with many new faces in the upper echelons, it didn't deter him.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secretive nature made it more difficult and troublesome for Norman to gather information. But after spending considerable time and favors, he still learned some information of questionable truth.

First was Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius.

Upon seeing this name, Norman was momentarily stunned. After all, Osborn was once one of Dr. Otto's financial backers. The only pity was that his technology had a major accident during experimental verification, and the two shrewd women controlled the narrative and made it known to everyone.

Especially Dr. Otto's stubborn personality, which made Norman and others have a poor impression of him.

Occasionally, Norman would see snippets of information about him in some Metropolis newspapers, mostly about him robbing a bank branch, fighting with the city's guardian, Spider-Man, damaging public facilities, and injuring people.

He originally thought that Dr. Otto was just like that, but he didn't expect him to reappear in his sight in another form, reminding him of the man once again.

Especially this time, he had joined forces with the mutants.

Norman found the key point: mutants!

Whether it was S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark, or Dr. Otto, what connected them was mutants! This couldn't help but arouse Norman's interest.

The mutant disaster, with hundreds of thousands of people in Metropolis infected with the mechanical virus, was a major event that had already spread worldwide. Even though the authorities tried their best to suppress the news early on, Metropolis wasn't a small village; how could they suppress it? As far as Norman knew, many tycoons had conducted some kind of research on some mutants through various legal and illegal means when the mutants appeared.

So, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sudden increase in attention to mutants, was it because they had discovered something? Or was there something unknown about the mutants?

Should Osborn Industries respond to the earlier call from Captain America and give those poor mutants a job they could live on? At least some of them were considered elites before they were infected.

Norman decided to take a gamble.

Even though everything was still unclear, Norman wasn't someone who lacked decisiveness. He knew very well that the reason people of their class could earn a lot of money and possess a lot of resources wasn't because they were incomparably smart.

No, many of the leaders were at most of average ability. But they could grasp more information than ordinary people! All decisions and judgments are mostly based on the information at hand.

Soon, Osborn extended invitations to some mutants, joining the talent war unexpectedly. And Osborn's entry also attracted more attention.

...

In the basement of a villa.

In the dim and empty space, there was only a long table and nine chairs. Several men and women were seated on the nine chairs.

"Why hold a meeting? Has something important requiring cooperation happened recently? Or did you, Malik, you old thing, hear the so-called message from God again?"

The first to speak was a charming and beautiful, tall woman with a head of large green waves cascading to her waist. Her slender fingers bent and gently tapped the surface of the long table.

"I heard you haven't been doing well these past few years, Ms. Salsky?" At the head of the table, the old man called Malik smiled gently and replied softly.

Ophelia Sarkissian, the viper-like Madame Hydra of the underworld, her beautiful face immediately darkened upon hearing this. She wasn't without her own schemes, but undoubtedly, his words deeply stung her.

Ever since she failed to pursue Luke of Hephaestus a few years ago, she seemed to have been plagued by bad luck. First, her lair in Metropolis was almost uprooted, then she was tracked down and had to quench her thirst by using the power of black magic to escape.

She did successfully get rid of the hyenas armed by Hephaestus, but in their place, a group of more troublesome mages joined the pursuit. God knows what kind of days she was living during that time! A dignified head of Hydra was forced to hide her identity, constantly changing her location around the world, hiding in the shadows.

When she finally finished everything and thought she had fooled those mages with a stand-in and was safe, she had just shown her face when she ran into the mages waiting at her doorstep, waiting for the rabbit to stumble in.

She was stunned at the time! Although the two mages didn't show hostility towards her, the leading fat mage first threw out a mirror dimension, and then the other mage handed her a stack of documents at the right time, and they smiled and asked her to quickly sign the contract.

After the two mages left, Madame Hydra breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't afraid of these two mages, but she was afraid of attracting the existence behind them. Just when she thought everything had settled down, as long as she didn't casually unleash the power of black magic in the future, she would be as safe as before, Hephaestus's hyenas appeared in front of her almost seamlessly, and it was hard to say whether the other party had anything to do with the mages.

During this period of time, the wealth accumulated by Madame Hydra was almost wiped out by those hyenas. Those people were very patient, slowly eroding her strength and influence. Now Malik even used this to ridicule her, of course she wanted to explode.

"Don't worry about it, I hope you live to see your God," Madame Hydra cursed coldly.

"The longevity potion produced by Hephaestus is a good thing, it should allow me to live to see the return of God! At that time, the whole world will belong to God and us!" Malik was like a devout believer, his tone calm, but it made people feel his fanaticism.

"Tch!" A sneer rang out in the darkness.

"Pierce, do you have any objections to my words?" Malik looked in the direction of the sound.

"No one has seen your God, it's more like a legend." Alexander Pierce, one of the directors of S.H.I.E.L.D., and also the leader of this group of Hydra agents in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., lowered his head, wiping his glasses with the corner of his clothes while answering slowly.

"How dare you doubt the existence of God? The origin of Hydra comes from Hive! And the reason why you have been able to develop to the present is because our Malik and other families gave our full support in the beginning!" Malik's voice and face turned cold.

"We also give you enough returns! We have helped you solve countless troubles, and we also select a group of loyal agents every year to participate in your so-called dedication ceremony! Because of that ceremony, we have sacrificed hundreds and thousands of elite talents!" Pierce countered without hesitation.

"They didn't sacrifice! They just went to the kingdom of God and merged with God!" Malik corrected.

"Whatever, but this year's ceremony hasn't reached the agreed time yet, is it early?" Pierce casually put the cleaned glasses on the bridge of his nose, straightened them, and said indifferently: "Even if it's a ceremony, there's no need to call us all together for a meeting, right? I have a lot of affairs at hand recently, and time is tight."

"I know! The successor you chose has done a good job! He has successfully brought S.H.I.E.L.D. to a new height! Even the influence is not limited to this planet. But do you think you can control him for how long? Only God! Only the complete arrival of God can allow us to truly control this world!" Malik, as always, carried his God in his words.

"Do we really need a God?" Another voice rang out.

"Strucker, watch your words! This is disrespect!" Malik glared at the speaker in anger.

"I agree with Strucker, we don't need a God. We ourselves can become Gods!" Another male voice rang out, making Malik's face even more ugly. The speaker was Whitehall, another head of Hydra. Except for Zola, who only exists as data consciousness, all the leading figures of Hydra have gathered here.

"This is blasphemy!" Malik snorted.

"The times have changed. While you are still holding on to the so-called God, the Gods that have appeared on this planet have already appeared! Thor, Odin, the Asgardian God Race! The Nine Realms! The God you believe in, perhaps is just a powerful alien?" Baron Strucker shrugged his shoulders, revealing the truth mercilessly.

"You have betrayed the faith of Hydra!" Malik looked around at the heads of the snakes angrily.

"What is Hydra's faith? It is to control the world and make it operate according to our ideas! The Malik family has been indulging in welcoming back the so-called God, how long has it been since you opened your eyes to understand this world? Do you think what I said about we can become new Gods is just a meaningless sentence? No, we can really become Gods! Like the Asgardian God Race, upgrade Hydra to a God Race!" Whitehall's eyes were full of fanaticism.

"How are you going to become a God? With your Inhuman toys?" Malik mocked. However, his mockery only earned the contemptuous and disdainful gazes of Whitehall, Strucker, and Pierce.

"It seems that your intelligence information has indeed been outdated for a long time. I think it's time to update it, instead of staring at a legend. The data dimension, a dimensional world full of infinite possibilities! Its power radiates to reality! The shackles that limit our power growth have been completely broken. Compared to the so-called God, I think we should take the lead in occupying the data dimension! Just like we once wanted to capture the whole world, strive for it with all our strength, occupy it! If we can win this time, then not only this planet, the entire Nine Realms may be dominated by us!" Whitehall's eyes flashed with fanatical light, and his tone was impassioned.

"The data dimension can help us transform a powerful and loyal army of superhumans! All we need to pay is the technology we have at hand! Whoever uploads more technology can obtain higher authority, more functions, and stronger power in the data dimension! In terms of technology accumulation, how many countries can compare with our Hydra? We also control many scientific research enterprises and research talents." Baron Strucker smiled: "I already have some results, and I am particularly satisfied with two of them."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. will play an indispensable and important role in it." Pierce glanced at the two.

Whitehall and Strucker looked at each other and nodded: "Of course, none of us will deny your contribution, Pierce."

"Enough! Stop saying some nonsense." Malik, as the convener of the meeting, became more and more angry at the tacit understanding shown by the three. He slapped the table hard and looked coldly at the many snakeheads in the field: "Don't forget, at least one-third of your organization's funds are provided by the Malik and other families."

"Malik, let me talk to them." A clear female voice suddenly sounded in the dark space. This strange voice instantly made everyone present vigilant.

"Malik, how dare you!" Madame Hydra was the first to jump up from her chair. Among the people present, only her power had been severely hit, that is, her power was the weakest among them. This made her have to guard against it. After all, Hydra is not a harmonious, loving, and mutually helpful organization.

"Don't be nervous, my children." A tall woman walked out of the darkness, as if she had been staying in that darkness from beginning to end.

"Who is she?" Pierce and others also frowned, each preparing their own self-defense methods.

"She is the messenger of God! She is here to lead Hydra to the right path!" Malik stood up respectfully, introducing with a fanatical expression.

"Have you been controlled, Malik?"

Seeing the fanatical expression on Malik's face, and the obedience he showed to the strange woman, Pierce and others felt a chill in their hearts.

PS: I've been more interested in Prince of Tennis light novels recently, "Prince of Tennis: My Skills Come from Bleach", "Prince of Tennis: Heart, Body, Technique", Starting the Escape from Konoha, Arceus's Pirate Journey. These, plus the ones from the previous two days, are basically the books I'm following. That's all…