Disclaimer: This is a fan-created story inspired by elements of MCU & DC Comics, including Krypton and its characters. This work is purely for entertainment and is an original reinterpretation of existing lore. All recognizable characters, settings, and concepts belong to their respective creators and rights holders.
NOTE: don't forget to join my Patreon.com/Argonaut007 to get access up to 10+ Advance chapters.
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Chapter 47 — The First Pieces on the Board
Inside the laboratory-office of Howard Stark, the air hummed with quiet energy. Tools, blueprints, and experimental engines surrounded every surface like the chaotic mind of a genius given physical form.
Howard leaned against his workbench, flipping slowly through the notebook that Von-Ra had brought.
Each page made his expression grow more serious.
Jet propulsion diagrams.
Ramjet concepts.
Scramjet combustion flow models.
Rocket nozzle pressure ratios.
Finally he closed the notebook.
"You talk like someone who has seen the future of aerospace engineering," Howard said, narrowing his eyes.
Von smiled faintly.
"Perhaps I simply understand where science inevitably leads."
Howard tapped the notebook.
"If even half of this works, Stark Industries will dominate aviation for decades."
Von tilted his head slightly.
"Not decades."
Howard frowned.
"Centuries."
Silence filled the room.
Koryn stood quietly behind Von like a silent guardian.
Howard crossed his arms.
"Alright. Let's talk business."
Von spoke calmly.
"We are currently attempting to purchase a piece of land—ten acres—near the border of Hell's Kitchen."
Howard whistled.
"In New York? That's not a purchase. That's a political war."
"Exactly," Von said.
Howard thought for a moment.
"You want Stark Industries to help you bypass government resistance."
Von nodded.
"In exchange for the technology in that notebook."
Howard smiled slowly.
"You drive a hard bargain for someone who just arrived in America."
Von extended his hand.
"Then we have an agreement."
Howard shook it.
But before letting go, he asked quietly:
"Who exactly are you, Von Archea?"
Von's expression remained calm.
"Someone building a future."
Far away…
On the surface of Mars, deep beneath red dust and silent craters, a hidden facility awakened.
Inside the chamber, the advanced AI Ruby activated multiple systems simultaneously.
"Initializing Project Phoenix."
Mechanical drones emerged from charging stations.
Automated miners began drilling into Martian rock.
Rare metals were extracted and transported into fabrication chambers.
Inside a massive chamber, glowing blue energy fields formed.
Ruby continued.
"Objective: Rebuild Kryptonian civilization."
Genetic incubators activated.
Inside the tanks, faint biological structures slowly formed.
The first generation of Phoenix Subjects.
Artificial Kryptonians.
Not clones.
But a new generation designed to survive this universe.
Ruby monitored the process.
"Project Phoenix Phase One… has begun."
(AN: for me all Kryptonians are artificial race, they are genetically programmed race, they are pre-modeled—they can make you boy or girl before even you are created. Only Kal-El is natural birth, even Von-Ra is genetically modified Kryptonian)
Back on Earth.
Night had fallen over Hell's Kitchen.
Von and Koryn walked calmly through the dim streets, leaving Stark Industries behind.
The air smelled of smoke, oil, and cheap alcohol.
A group of men stepped out from a dark alley.
"Hey rich boys," one of them sneered.
"Nice suits."
"Hand over your money."
Koryn slowly looked toward Von.
"My king… permission?"
Von sighed.
"Make it quick."
The gang leader laughed.
"Oh look, the butler wants to play hero—"
He never finished the sentence.
Koryn moved.
To the human eye it looked like a blur.
A fist struck the first man's stomach.
Another was lifted off the ground with impossible strength.
The third tried to pull a knife.
Koryn caught the blade between two fingers and snapped it like a toothpick.
Within seconds all five men lay unconscious on the pavement.
Von adjusted his coat.
"You used too much force."
"They will live," Koryn replied calmly.
Von nodded.
"Let's go."
But neither of them noticed that someone had witnessed the entire encounter.
The next morning, inside Stark Industries.
Howard Stark sat in his laboratory reviewing several blueprints derived from Von's notebook. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he scribbled equations and calculations across a chalkboard.
Standing nearby was Peggy Carter.
She crossed her arms as she studied the diagrams.
"Howard… you've barely slept," she said.
Howard waved dismissively.
"You don't understand, Peggy. These propulsion concepts are decades ahead of current aeronautical science."
Peggy glanced at the board.
"Who gave them to you?"
Howard leaned back in his chair.
"A young man named Von Archea."
Peggy raised an eyebrow.
"And you trust him?"
Howard smirked.
"Trust him? Not exactly."
He tapped the notebook.
"But anyone who can design propulsion systems that leapfrog modern engineering by fifty years…"
Howard paused thoughtfully.
"…is someone worth paying attention to."
Peggy stepped closer to the window overlooking New York.
"And what does this mysterious young man want in return?"
Howard answered simply.
"Ten acres of land in Hell's Kitchen."
Peggy turned slowly.
"That's a suspicious request."
Howard shrugged.
"Maybe."
He smiled slightly.
"But geniuses tend to be strange."
Peggy looked unconvinced.
"Well… keep your eyes open, Howard."
Howard looked back at the propulsion designs.
"Oh, I intend to."
Across the city, Von stood on a rooftop overlooking the vast skyline of New York.
The lights of the city stretched endlessly beneath him.
Beside him, Koryn waited silently.
"The first pieces are moving," Von murmured.
"And this world still has no idea what is coming."