Flavius stood in front of a workbench which he had assembled in the last days. The Kamui dimension had turned into a laboratory where Flavius had worked nonstop. He didn't take a single break, allowing the different masks to meet all his needs.
Right now, he was wearing the iconic iron visage of Dr Doom, holding the Stone Mask, now safely fitted with the flawless Red Stone of Aja, up to the light of the pocket dimension. Where that light came from, he didn't know, but the dimension provided light, and that was enough for Flavius to work with.
With the combined mystical and scientific genius of Victor von Doom coursing through his synapses, Flavius peered directly into the arcane architecture of the ancient artefact from another reality. Doom's unique mastery over both sorcery and hyper-advanced technology allowed him to decipher what only traditional science could not: the precise way the mask's stone tendrils interacted with the soul, stimulated the brain, and manipulated the biological limitations of a mortal body.
He analysed how the Red Stone of Aja perfectly channelled and magnified environmental radiation to alter a user at the cellular level, seeking a way to access the impressive form of immortality and shapeshifting potential without inheriting the volatile, monstrous bloodlust that would turn him into a vampire.
The control over one's own biology and all the cells was an immense benefit for Flavius that he could and would use to get around in the galaxy and, more importantly, the Imperium.
As he turned the stone artefact over in his hands, Flavius glanced around his rapidly expanding workshop. He had already devised a semi-brilliant workaround for his greatest limitation: the frustrating reality that he had only one face and could therefore wear only one mask at a time. And that he was alone in this reality, where he couldn't trust anyone.
His solution had come from a rather bizarre source. Earlier, he had donned the simple, ridiculous white mask of the character Black Sperm from One Punch Man.
Black Sperm was a Dragon-level monster and an executive member of the Monster Association in One-Punch Man. Despite his appearance, Black Sperm is an extremely powerful being.
Black Sperm's strength depends on his cell stock; the more cells he possesses, the more powerful he becomes. His entire physiology allows him to split into numerous duplicates.
Rather than being killed, he can split into additional copies of himself when he receives a fatal blow that would typically be lethal, provided he has sufficient cell stock. He can also split himself at will.
However, he remains vulnerable to attacks that do not sever him into pieces, such as blunt force or acid attacks, since those destroy his cells outright and prevent him from replicating. For example, physical blows from powerful fighters cause his clones to explode from the impact rather than separate as they would if slashed.
Eating protein allows him to replenish his cell stock, so he can theoretically go on forever.
Because of these abilities, Black Sperm possesses a unique regenerative ability; as his body is formed from vast numbers of copies of himself working together, any damage he sustains will reduce his total count, but his body can fully regenerate so long as he has reserves.
Now the truly interesting thing was the following.
Black Sperm can increase in size and manipulate its body shape however it chooses, such as manifesting multiple limbs... or heads.
And that was the crux of all. He could manipulate his form to possess multiple heads.
The sheer versatility of this power was staggering. And Flavius thought he had finally achieved what he wanted and could wear as many masks as he wanted. However, that wasn't exactly the case.
The clones could not put on additional masks, as their faces were technically already occupied by the Black Sperm visage. However, despite that, the clones possessed full autonomy, his base intelligence, and shared his physical coordination, and more importantly, followed his mind. It was akin to a hive mind with multiple identical minds. Like shadow clones from Naruto.
Speaking of which: Shadow Clones.
Shadow Clones from Naruto were another thing Flavius had tried, but had found out that while it was indeed possible for the clones to wear masks and helmets he summoned, they retained their Shadow Clone status. Meaning they could be destroyed if they were hit once or even moved too much.
Still, that wasn't really that big a problem for Flavius. Because right now, he was interested in the mental faculties of several characters he knew of to help him come up with a way to enhance himself permanently.
And that's exactly what he had done.
The Black Sperm mask had granted him the monsters' terrifying fracturing biology, allowing Flavius to split his consciousness and physical form into dozens of identical clones. Now, since they knew as much about technology as he did, which was basically nothing, they followed orders.
So he needed to learn about technology or create a step-by-step guide to do it.
And that's where Shadow Clones came in.
Flavius took off Doctor Doom's mask and summoned another one, one that he knew very well: Orochimaru when he wore the Shinigami Mask.
Orochimaru was a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village of Naruto, and later on turned traitor when his research on immortality was discovered, and he grew more and more immoral. The problem was that having the Shadow Clones wear different masks took a heavy strain on them; he was limited to how many he could use this way.
With a poof, ten shadow clones appeared. This was still a good number, as it allowed Flavius to summon four masks that the clones could wear and give feedback and help, while he could do that as well, thanks to the skills and talent of Orochimaru himself.
To test it out, Flavius summoned four masks.
#1: The Maker
This is a no-brainer. Reed Richards was a ridiculous genius, but the Maker had his intelligence augmented by his new powers and sat at a 'level 12 intellect'. This intelligence in the hands of Flavius, who knew how to channel it and not go over the edge, was a serious advantage and a gold mine.
#2: Charles Xavier
A natural genius, Xavier is a leading authority on genetics, mutation, and psionics. He possesses considerable expertise in other life sciences. He is highly talented at devising equipment to utilise and enhance psionic powers. Xavier is also quite the masterful tactician and strategist, effectively evaluating situations and devising swift responses.
#3: Hank Pym
Dr Hank Pym is one of the leading biochemists in the world. He possesses extensive expertise in various scientific fields, including subatomic physics, robotics, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, programming, emergency medicine, optics, and entomology. He has claimed to be one of the five smartest individuals on the planet, making him capable of competing with others like Reed Richards. Eternity even considers him Earth's "Scientist Supreme."
#4: Herbert Wyndham, a.k.a The High Evolutionary
The High Evolutionary is a master geneticist skilled in genetics and engineering. He is a brilliant theoretician and can genetically evolve various biological life forms to a Lamarckian level using his extensive knowledge of genetics and bioengineering. Remarkably, he can even increase the intelligence of non-sentient living beings, transforming them into sentient beings, as demonstrated by the New Men.
As the fourth clone donned the High Evolutionary's mask, another clone puffed out of existence. The mental strain was already insane, and Flavius had only four of his clones use the skills of the people whose masks they wore.
That left one final character Flavius wanted to try.
#5: Thanos, the Mad Titan
Many people view Thanos primarily for his power, recognising him as one of the universe's strongest beings. His use of the Infinity Gauntlet further solidified his reputation as one of the deadliest beings as well. However, Thanos is much more than just his superpowers; he is also one of the most intelligent beings in the entire universe.
Thanos is a genius, even by Eternals standards. He possesses immense scientific and tactical knowledge, which he has utilised to genetically enhance and strengthen himself. He created the chair that allows him to teleport, fly, and travel through dimensions.
His inventions in the comics exceed anything ever created by an Earthling, making him the smartest character in the Marvel universe.
The four remaining clones who hadn't donned a mask puffed out of existence, and even the other four seemed to flicker for a long moment before also puffing out of existence.
It was too much.
Flavius held his head in pain for a moment. The backlash of the clones was ridiculous. He thought he had a way to cheat the Essence, but found out that despite the insane potential it held, he couldn't cheese the system just yet.
After recovering, Flavius decided to do it again, but this time, he would only summon four and leave Hank Pym out of it for now. Right now, he was most interested in genetics and enhancement anyway. Technology could come later.
But before that, there was something he had to get his hands on.
.
The Sangprimus Portum, originally known as the Magna Mater, which means "Great Mother", is an Imperium artefact that contains the genetic material of all twenty of the Emperor's Primarchs.
This device, believed to have a Selenar origin, is said to hold the key to creation.
During the First Pacification of Luna, the ruling Selenar Priestess, Heliosa-54, entrusted Ta'lab Vita-37 with the task of safeguarding the Magna Mater from the forces of the Emperor. However, the device was ultimately acquired by the Emperor, becoming the genetic source code for the Space Marines.
In the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, Primarch Roboute Guilliman entrusted the Sangprimus Portum to Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl, tasking him with creating the next generation of Space Marines.
Cawl succeeded, and the resulting Primaris Space Marines would be taller and stronger than their predecessors because the genetic material within the Sangprimus Portum was more potent than the Gene-seed derived from the Primarchs.
In the present day, the Sangprimus Portum is kept under heavy guard on Belisarius Cawl's flagship, the Zar-Quaesitor.
...
In the heart of Zar-Quaesitor, a black circular portal appeared with white edges. It started small and grew slowly until it was big enough for a fully grown man to walk through.
Distant steps could be heard, sounding as if someone was walking on marble floors in a large hall. The sound reverberated through the air, and a moment later, Flavius stepped out. He looked around, observing the surroundings and the technology that was there to preserve and protect one of Cawl's most precious possessions.
Flavius had arrived inside a workshop, slash laboratory. There were several dozen servitors, mindless amalgamations between man and machines that all looked at him, at once.
And as soon as they saw the intruder, the alarms were activated. Loud klaxons sounded through the entire flagship, alerting the top brass of Tech Priests that someone had dared to arrive unannounced and unwanted.
The Tech Priests of Mars were an odd bunch who saw themselves and their path of serving their divine being, the Omnissiah, as all that truly counted. They could take any technology from others, but if someone even dared to take something from them... ohhh, that was a big no.
Belisarius Cawl was alerted immediately. His cogitator, the CPU or computer of the grim dark future, informed him of the emergency. And what an emergency it was.
"Someone has dared to invade the sanctity of the heart forge. Alpha Primus, get to the bottom of this and eliminate the intruder," he told the large man standing watch near him.
"As you command."
The large man in new and not yet popularised Power Armour rushed out, making his way to the very heart of the laboratory, where the genetic material of all twenty of the Emperor's Primarchs was kept under lock.
Meanwhile, Flavius was getting attacked from all of the Servitors, Servo-skulls and other machinery that had been integrated to serve as protection.
"Well, well, well... seems like I made it."