Marvel: A New God's Reign

Chapter 80: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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"Nothing happens to anyone that he is not fitted by nature to bear."

- Maximus, (Gladiator)

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<(Atem POV)>

"I sure did enjoy that little vacation. I guess, it's fine to have fun sometimes, especially when it is with two beautiful girls like Anna and Wanda. Perhaps, I should do this more often... Hmm, maybe I could have a boy's night out too. I could call Wolverine, Blade, and a couple of other guys. Maybe, I could even get to see Tony having a drinking contest with Logan." I muttered to Zoya floating beside me while casually strolling through the royal garden in Neo Genosha.

Why was I strolling through a garden? Well, sometimes, it felt nice to just enjoy nature and be present in the moment like when roaming a flowery garden... and no, it's not gay.

'By the way, I wonder how Blade has been doing. I had given him, Lilith, and Shiklah the responsibility of taking over the Earth's hidden monster world. The last I heard, they had slayed a million-year-old vampire and were lodging a war against some ancient Egyptian pharaoh and his immortal "mummy army". They would probably be returning home soon. Perhaps, I should plan another giant 'welcome home' party.' I thought to myself with a smile on my face while imagining how funny it would be when people would find out that metahumans are not the only species that has been living alongside humans for millennia.

"I can take care of all the preparations when you decide to have that party. However, I should remind you, that Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four tried to take his life once again this morning by hanging himself from the roof in his room... As a result, not only did he not die but a significant portion of the building was destroyed because of his immense weight." Zoya informed with a flat voice. "There is also a chance that he might try to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train next in which case the public might hold Meta Enterprises or even you liable since they know of your existence now as well as your connection to New Genosha. So, he needs to be stopped ASAP. That is at the top of your to-do list today." She advised.

"... That rock-brained idiot. What part of 'sit tight and wait for me to come up with a solution' did he not understand? *Sigh* Zoya, open a hush tube for me to the Baxter Building. I'll see what I can do to solve his problem. Changing the Thing's appearance will at least be much easier than winning a gamble against that damn talking duck." I exclaimed with an annoyed snort as I remembered the drunk duck I had met back on Xandar.

*Psssp* With almost an inaudible sound, a red-accented hole appeared in the air forming an almost tube-like structure that connected my garden with the main hall of the Baxter building.

With a silent nod of acknowledgment, I calmly walked in through the hush tube.

There was a strange silence permeating throughout the Baxter building, like there was some sort of thick tension present in the air. The tense atmosphere indicated that although the Fantastic Four was supposed to be one big family, it was not a very happy family right now.

Using my senses to scan the entire building, I was quickly able to find them in the basement lab testing out different stuff while building some sort of big machine.

With curiosity piquing my mind, I went straight toward the location, diligently praying in my heart that they weren't making yet another doomsday machine that could tear a hole in reality if something went wrong. After all, the "smartest man in the world" in their team was also the most careless man in the world as well.

However, the scene that welcomed me on entering the basement lab didn't at all look disturbing. Instead, they looked like little kids who had recently gained powers, trying to experiment with their abilities to see what else they could do. "Umm, should I come back later?" I asked confused as I entered the lab, genuinely bewildered after seeing the bizarre "experiments" happening in front of me.