Nick Fury smashed another cup.
Fragments scattered across the office floor.
"Damn it!"
The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. rarely lost his composure, but today his mood was particularly foul.
"The person I had my eye on… stolen again!"
"The Justice League… Theodore Voss… damn you!"
After venting his frustration, Fury slowly forced himself to calm down.
Anger would not solve the problem.
Although he was currently focusing on developing energy weapons based on the Tesseract, Fury knew the real foundation of his long-term plan was something else.
The Avengers Initiative.
But now one of the strongest candidates—Bruce Banner—had been taken away.
Losing the Hulk created a serious gap in the team's combat capability.
Fury mentally reviewed his remaining lineup.
Black Widow.
Hawkeye.
Captain America.
Iron Man.
Powerful individuals, certainly.
But in terms of raw battlefield power, the loss of the Hulk was significant.
Of course, Fury had no way of knowing that another top-tier powerhouse—Thor—was originally destined to join his Avengers roster as well.
After thinking for a long time, Fury's attention shifted to another potential pool of candidates.
Mutants.
There were many powerful mutants around the world.
The problem was control.
Mutants were notoriously difficult to manage, and choosing someone reliable enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. would not be easy.
Fury rubbed his temple.
Romanoff would normally handle recruitment like this.
Her infiltration skills—and the famous "honey trap"—were extremely effective.
Unfortunately, he had already assigned her to another undercover operation.
Suddenly Fury paused.
Then he slapped his forehead.
"If the honey trap isn't available… there's always the handsome-man trap."
He remembered a file.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had been monitoring a powerful Canadian mutant.
Jean-Paul Beaubier.
Codename: Northstar.
Superhuman speed.
Flight.
Photon energy projection.
An extremely powerful mutant.
Fury leaned back slowly.
"And if I remember correctly…"
"…he's also gay."
He stared thoughtfully at the file.
"Let's see if he can resist America's most famous super-soldier."
—
Compared to Fury's frustration, Ethan Voss had been having an excellent few days.
Inside the Divine Kingdom, Noah Town was expanding rapidly.
The population had already surpassed fifteen thousand residents.
Some were recruits discovered by Ethan's organization.
Others were mutants personally recommended by Mystique.
After the series of disasters that had recently struck New York, Ethan's recruitment efforts had accelerated significantly.
But Ethan knew the real population explosion would come later.
After the Battle of New York.
Noah Town itself had grown considerably.
Entire new districts of houses had been built.
Some were already occupied, while others remained empty in preparation for future arrivals.
A dedicated mutant district had also been established.
However, not every mutant chose to live there.
Many low-level mutants made a surprising decision.
They voluntarily gave up their mutant abilities.
After living in the Divine Kingdom and experiencing peace for the first time, they chose to return to ordinary human life.
Without their powers.
Without fear.
Without discrimination.
It once again proved something Ethan already understood.
Humans are social animals.
They crave belonging.
Around the town, farms and orchards had expanded.
Ranches stretched across green plains.
At this time of year, wheat fields swayed gently in the sunlight, and fruit trees grew thick with leaves.
The air was peaceful.
The residents lived in harmony.
The scenery was beautiful.
It looked like paradise.
A utopia.
A place where the mind could finally rest.
But Noah Town was not just a peaceful settlement.
Several pharmaceutical factories had also been built nearby.
This was the first result of Ethan's agreement with Asgard.
When Ethan met Odin and Queen Frigga, their first technological exchange had been medical technology.
Since Typhon Group already specialized in pharmaceuticals, it was the most logical starting point.
Asgardian science was centuries ahead of Earth.
Odin had even dispatched several royal physicians to Ethan's Divine Kingdom.
They were now collaborating with scientists like Dr. Samuel Sterns and Dr. Curt Connors.
Their primary project was revolutionary.
A medical treatment chamber.
Technology decades—perhaps centuries—beyond Earth's current level.
The treatment chamber could cure nearly every known disease.
Cancer.
AIDS.
Organ failure.
Even severe physical trauma.
External wounds.
Internal injuries.
Once this technology became operational, traditional hospitals might become obsolete.
This was what technology truly meant when used to benefit humanity.
Not like certain individuals who only cared about flying around the sky punching criminals.
Beyond medical advancements, Ethan had also begun experimenting with something else.
Magic.
Using the magical knowledge he extracted from Loki, Ethan compiled several spellbooks.
Soon after, a new subject quietly appeared in Noah Town's Central School.
Magical studies.
It was initially just a casual experiment.
But Ethan liked the idea of transforming his Divine Kingdom into a place where ordinary people could eventually become extraordinary.
If even one magical genius appeared among the students, Ethan would happily send them to Kamar-Taj.
Let them learn everything from the Ancient One.
And then bring that knowledge back.
Meanwhile, the Justice League itself continued expanding.
Jessica Jones had officially joined the organization.
Though she was still considered a reserve member.
Currently she worked with Blade hunting vampires while searching for clues about Dracula.
At the same time, Ethan's underground empire continued growing quietly.
After careful consideration, he appointed Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin—as the manager overseeing all criminal operations.
Fisk also received a new ability.
Danger perception.
It was originally extracted from a low-level mutant similar to Spider-Man's instinctive danger sense.
Ethan enhanced it slightly.
Now Kingpin could sense lethal threats even from a kilometer away.
For example…
A sniper rifle aimed directly at his head.
The ability drastically increased Fisk's survival chances.
After arranging all of these matters, Ethan finally allowed himself a break.
He rented a luxury yacht.
Accompanied by several Penthouse cover models.
The yacht drifted slowly down the Hudson River toward New York Harbor.
Behind them rose the towering skyline of Manhattan.
Ahead stretched the open sea.
The breeze was gentle.
The wine was excellent.
And the company… even better.
It was a perfect moment.
The only disappointment was Tony Stark.
New York's former king of nightlife had apparently changed his habits.
Instead of chasing women across the city, Stark now spent nearly all his time with Pepper Potts—the new CEO of Stark Industries.
With Stark absent from the nightlife scene, Ethan felt the thrill of competition disappear.
After all…
The real excitement came from conquering women that even Tony Stark couldn't win over.
But seeing Ethan slightly distracted, the beautiful women surrounding him quickly closed in.
Soft laughter.
Warm arms.
Smooth skin.
Ethan snapped out of his thoughts.
"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered inwardly.
"With beauties like this around me, why am I thinking about that arrogant guy with the goatee?"
"Ridiculous."
"Music!"
"Let's keep the party going!"
Just as Ethan prepared to head into the cabin with several enthusiastic companions, his phone suddenly rang.
"Boss," a voice reported urgently, "Ghost Rider has appeared."
Ethan paused.
Then he remembered.
Months earlier, while casually watching television, he had noticed a stunt performer named Johnny Blaze during a program called Impossible Challenge.
Further investigation confirmed something extraordinary.
Johnny Blaze had made a pact with the devil.
Because of that discovery, Ethan had arranged for someone to quietly monitor Blaze's movements.
"Last night," the voice continued, "in an abandoned train station… he transformed."
"A flaming skeleton riding a motorcycle."
"Extremely impressive."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
That really was cool.
"According to police records," the agent added, "Johnny's license plate was identified. The police have already requested an arrest warrant."
"I see," Ethan replied.
"Use the Justice League's authority under Homeland Security."
"Bail him out before sunset."
He ended the call and sighed.
A yacht full of beautiful women.
Or a supernatural skeleton biker with blue hellfire.
That was a difficult choice.
After thinking about it carefully…
Beautiful women would always be available.
But flaming skeleton riders?
Those were rare.
He stood up.
"Ladies," he said with a charming smile, "we'll continue this party another time."
.....
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