Marvel: A New God's Reign

Chapter 18: A Planetary Ambition

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"I don't believe in god. There's no proof he exists. In a world where there isn't even proof of the future, the past exists. Even if it's tainted with misunderstandings and delusions, if the people themselves believe in it, the past is the truth to them. And, if you base your actions or your life around it, in a way, it's a type of god itself."

-Izaya Orihara, (Durarara!)

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<Atem POV>

"Come on, just give a dollar more. One dollar wouldn't hurt your pockets. One dollar and I'll even throw in another endorsement video. How about that?" Tony Stark, the genius billionaire continued to try his best to change my mind as he pleaded from behind the computer's screen.

Currently, Stark Industries was getting a commission of five cents on every dosage of the MX001 serum sold worldwide along with the logistics and distribution costs but after seeing the massive demand for the serum along with the fact that most metahumans were ready to pay more money for each vial, Tony could not help but want to slightly increase the prices and get more commission from each sale. He might be a billionaire philanthropist but even he knew when there was space for more money to be made. After all, being a businessman was in his blood.

"Sorry Tony but not so soon. I understand that you want to keep the shareholders calm by showing at least some amount of profit from this deal with Meta Enterprises. Still, the current version of the serum is purely for marketing purposes and to spread our brand recognition in the pharmaceutical industry and gain the trust of professionals in the health industry. But don't worry, we will start making considerable gains from the release of our next-generation products. I have several game-changing pharmaceutical products already in mind for that."

"*Sigh* Fine, just make sure not to throw away my company after using it for your own pleasure. I hate people who don't call back a second time after cheaply using my company's services." Tony joked with a smirk on his face as he felt quite proud of successfully using a dirty joke.

"Yeah, sure Mr. Gigolo. Just make sure not to die of palladium radiation poisoning before our next deal because that will be a true shame." I said after which I immediately ended the call without giving him a chance to ask any further questions.

"Was that wise, letting him know that you are aware of his biggest weakness? He could begin countermeasures against you if he thinks you pose too much danger." Zoya said as she floated around me.

"Maybe, but it truthfully doesn't matter. I spooked him back when I showed off some of my abilities while rescuing him. I am pretty sure that he learns from his mistakes. I would be surprised if he hadn't already done thorough research on me while preparing countless countermeasures against the abilities I had displayed. That is the reason why I respect Tony Stark so much more than Reed Richards."

"I do agree with that sentiment Sir. Tony even without being connected with the world of supers was always prepared for metahuman attacks as long as they were on a small scale. He even had a Thought scrambler present on his person from the very start along with specialized defense systems installed in his home against any possible metahuman invasion. But Reed was the complete opposite.

I found research on his servers about anti-metahuman cuffs and anti-metahuman cells that he had developed as side projects to prevent them from using their powers by targeting the x-gene but despite having so much successful research, he never uses them in his practical life. Even his cybersecurity systems and his building defenses are average at best when compared to the ones used by geniuses like Victor Von Doom and Tony Stark. He didn't even have anything like a thought scrambler present on hand during our last visit, to protect himself from telepaths." Zoya said with a voice that almost sounded like she was frustrated at Reed's incompetence.