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Dragonborn's Might makes Right by Infonticus

Game X-overs & Avengers Xover Rated: M, English, Adventure, Words: 356k+, Favs: 1k+, Follows: 1k+, Published: Aug 25, 2021 Updated: Jun 12, 2022

514Chapter 21

Chapter 21: A Dragon God Plays with Fire

[Sakaar]

"It's about time that I adjusted my combat strategy."

I had won against Aether and Rudeus because I was able to adapt to counter their strengths and strategies. And I had risked losing to them because I couldn't adapt fast enough.

Aether and his Genshin Harem could have dragged out the PvP match over entire months in an annoying guerilla warfare campaign, and ultimately, the same Genshin waifus who I was heavily relying on at the moment could have leveraged their magical expertise to bind, seal and eventually defeat me.

Rudeus and his muscle girl harem had the raw power to actually strike me at my weakest point: the soul. His retinue had all the expertise at soul destruction necessary to be a grave threat to me. If I had let them coordinate, regain their bearings and focus their powers on me, they would have found the gaps in my Hevnokrenite and they would have been able to annihilate me right down to the soul.

Who knows what the next Contractor (or even just a powerful character) can pull off?

So, it was time to start the biggest gambit/contingency plan I've done. Because it wasn't enough that I was infiltrating earth in more than seven different vectors. It wasn't enough that I already had contingency plans for exceedingly powerful hostile contractors. And it wasn't enough that I was racing down the path to Godhood. Spreading myself too thin wasn't the concern, no. What was a concern was that I wasn't being creative enough and considering more options out there. And that ran the risk that I would be left with too little countermeasures against unorthodox strategies that my enemies may use.

And that was why…

I needed that mortal perspective. I needed that type of thinking that allowed humans to overcome gods. I needed that soul-deep 'do or die' desperation that unlocked the cruellest, the most cunning, and terrifyingly violent part of the mortal psyche.

And for that, I was going to use my Dovahkiin body. It was barely needed nowadays, mostly because I did most of my fighting as I was: as a giant metal dragon that could annihilate entire worlds with a single Shout. So, apart from dicking down women into orgasmic puddles of girl, my Dovahkiin form was a waste of a huge advantage. Like a muscle atrophying from lack of use, or a blade rusting away in the corner of a shop. And that was a travesty to the extreme. Fortunately, I knew just what I needed to do. I had even consulted the Company if it would affect my 'Time Away from Sakaar' mission timer, and received a very favourable response.

++ C ++

Dear Mr. Hevnokren,

We at the Company have processed your request for information and are happy to announce that it has been approved.

In regards to your questions about the interactions between your current Company Mission and the Company perk [Dragon Bifurcation], you will be pleased to know that the Company has decided in your favour. However, please note that the moment she regains self-awareness, the mission condition will be reinstated.

Attached are the full details.

We are once again legally required to state that the Company does not own your soul and to acknowledge that it rightfully belongs in another omniverse and its Greater God.

Happy Hunting!

Sincerely,

Middle Management

++ C ++

With the details out of the way, it was time to fire up the [Adjustment Field] on myself again, but this time a lot more invasively. This could end horribly… but on the other hand, this could also end amazingly well should it pay out dividends. But regardless of how it goes, it's going to be supremely unpleasant for me. DIY self-performed brain surgery to alter your own ego and memories could be… unsettling like that. Worst of all, I was going to be out of action while I operated on myself.

However, it was all worth it.

For after all, the first thing a god mastered was himself, and that meant leaving no vulnerabilities to be exploited. This was just yet another ace in the hole. Prepared at little actual cost, but at great personal risk. A gamble if you , that was fine with me.

"Might makes Right, no matter for what cause or creed."

Due to the incredible secrecy of this operation, I won't be able to tell my waifus that I will be indisposed. But I'll leave a brief message just in case someone calls for help. But hopefully, they can avoid dying to MCU characters while I was out of action for the duration.

[The Dragon's Tower, Sakaar] (Days later)

"I'm busy, so handle it yourself. Ask the others for help if you're desperate."

"As you can see, I still cannot reach him." Johanna frowned at the message left in the magic-comms.

Some days, it was a challenge being the head of a deep science division for a galactic warlord with mercurial interests. Yes, she had practically infinite resources at her disposal, but it came with the occasional downsides such as the corresponding increase in project scale as well as him constantly being elsewhere. However, suddenly disappearing without a single warning was a new one for him. She had figured that Hevnokren preferred to be seen and feared. Why else would his dragon mech be constantly perched atop his tower in Sakaar?

A perch that was now worryingly empty.

So here she was in Dr. Lucifina Zee's laboratory…

"So you came to me for answers." the Swiss doctor smiled as she sat back behind her desk. Looking smug in her lab coat and brown turtleneck, her slender legs crossing in her pencil skirt. Johanna had only met the flirty doctor once before, and never had a chance to inspect her lab. It was certainly impressive as she sat inside it. And she couldn't help but feel slightly out of place in her black leathers when everything else was white or gold.

Pristine white metal accented by the shimmering gold energies of her Biotic technology, healing energies that could cure the cripple, reverse ageing and even undo death and Dr. Zee was using it for no other purpose than as impressive decor… Johanna silently promised to herself that she was definitely going to accent her own lab like this.

"You're the only head of H.Y.D.R.A. that I have not yet asked…" Johanna conceded with a nod, "... given how difficult it is to find or contact you. But let us not mince words, do you have any clue as to where Hev went?"

"Oh, well I'm afraid to say that you're out of luck here as well." Lucifina advised with a helpless shrug, "I do not know where Hev has gone either."

Johanna massaged her temples. And that settled it: No one in Hevnokren's entire retinue knew where he was or what he was doing. This may prove problematic. But Lucifina seemed playful nonetheless.

"Why do you ask?" Lucifina teasingly questioned with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows. "Could it be that a formula-enhanced superhuman like yourself is- as they say- backed up?"

"Hev told you about me?" Johanna couldn't help but clarify. She had only met the flirty doctor once before, and even then, didn't really speak at length.

"When I arrived on this earth, I did try to keep up with major medical advancements." the shorter blonde informed her with a shrug, "Dr. Erskine's superhuman formula was one such advancement that piqued my interest. And I would have asked you, but you were… indisposed from that battle with Rudeus. So, I had asked Hev instead."

"I have already recreated the serum if you must know." Lucifina boredly shrugged as if recreating a holy grail of scientific advancement that people have been searching tirelessly for almost 70 years was no great feat for her. "It was clever, but I found it insultingly unrefined after learning its inner workings. So, I experimented with making my own using my Biotic Technology. Would you like a vial or two? I have already thoroughly verified on live test subjects that it's backwards compatible with Erskine's serum. However, you will find that it has vastly diminishing returns. It should be over there somewhere."

And seeing the doctor's careless gesture to the far part of her lab, Johanna's eye twitched at being offered the superhuman serum as if it was a piece of chocolate.

"Later." Johanna muttered with a cough, "But we are straying from the subject already, I'd like for you to treat Hevnokren's absence seriously."

Lucifina rolled her rich blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be back in a few days." she dismissed nonchalantly, "We each have designated stockpiles just for this reason. We're not about to run out of Vibranium or Uru."

Johanna nodded in acknowledgement- it seemed like there was no need to remind Lucifina that everyone's technology (including hers) was running off of either Hevnokren's Vibranium supply or his enchantments. Reminding them all once again that for all of Hevnokren's violent and chaotic tendencies, he was essential to their infrastructure and supply chains.

But he was more than that.

"You don't seem to understand, Lucifina… The Warlord of Sakaar who rules through fear and violence has been abruptly and suspiciously absent for a few days now." Johanna stated in a no-nonsense tone as she simply stared straight into Lucifina's eyes- her clear blue meeting the doctor's deeper blue.

"Rumours have already begun to spread that Hev is dead." She continued, deathly serious, "Whispers about the Vibranium supply running out have become commonplace now that Hev no longer materialises it by the cargo container in full view of everyone. The cartels have been plotting a takeover in the absence of his Dragon mech staring at their headquarters day and night. The slave markets have been dealing with more and more slaves now that he doesn't cast a shadow over them with his wings… And the only reason why the Kree and Nova Empires have not attacked Sakaar with fleets of thousands of ships is that they still think it's a ruse by us…"

And Lucifina had the grace to wince.

"I see…" She murmured- leaning back into her chair. Apparently grasping the gravity of the situation now.

"Despotic empires and dictatorships are always dependent on their heads of state." Johanna counselled her- and she like to think she was an expert on the matter, "When was the last time you saw him?"

The Swiss doctor took a quick glance at her wrist-mounted holographic display.

"As of right now? 74 hours ago, local time." Lucifina answered- cupping her chin with slender fingers in contemplation. "He had dropped by to finish his end of Project Fortnite. I'd say we worked for about six hours before he left to focus on whatever project is monopolising his attention right now."

That would make Dr. Zee the last person who was with Hev. Not that she was under any suspicion, of course; but Hev's last interaction may hold indications as to his current whereabouts.

"And you have no clue as to what that project is?" Johanna stated, and Lucifina nodded in affirmation. "Seeing as he spent the most amount of time here with you, will you disclose the details of your joint project with him? There might be something we missed that would indicate where he is now… What is Project Fortnite?"

And Lucifina broke into a wide, excited grin- her rich blue eyes glittering with delight as if she had been waiting for someone to talk about it.

"It would be my pleasure, meine Allemande friend!" She happily gushed- shooting up from her seat to take Johanna's gloved hand and dragging her to a nearby elevator. "Why… Project Fortnite is nothing less than the culmination of all the work that HYDRA's heads have achieved thus far! Magic and Technology worked in tandem with my Biotic Technology to achieve something… fascinating. The alchemy of Albedo and Sucrose, the endless supply of Vibranium, the astronomical energy generation of your Tesseract-Energy reactors and the energies of four Infinity Stones!"

"Spare me the sales pitch for research grants." Johanna sighed as the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to descend, "If you have some documentation, I'd like to read it."

And Lucifina merely laughed as she linked arms with her.

"Oh, I do, but it's much more thrilling when you share your scientific advancements verbally, ja?" the Swiss doctor winked playfully. Well, she certainly was more animated than the previous Swiss mad scientist that Johanna had worked with- Professor Arnim Zola.

"I suppose…" Johanna conceded, "All that power, technology and expertise pooled together in a single project… the scale must have been massive. But what is Project Fortnite?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Lucifina tutted with a smile. "Before I answer your question, allow me to ask one of my own: What do you think Hev's long term goal is?"

Hev's twisted mantra of 'Rape, Kill, Pillage.' came to mind. But that was more of a guiding principle than an actual tangible goal, and Johanna knew it.

"He was particularly focused on the creation of the 'Dread Armada.'" Johanna answered instead, "He would mention it often, and impress the need for more and bigger ships on me… so to your question, I'd answer 'The Conquest of the whole Andromeda galaxy.'"

Lucifina smiled- her blonde ponytail bobbing all the while. And Johanna absentmindedly ran her fingers through her own. Did Hev have a type for blondes with ponytails?

"That is true so far…" Lucifina smiled knowingly like she had already expected such an answer, "And who do you think will crew the ships that Hev has told you to manufacture?"

Johanna stiffened as Lucifina's cheshire smile grew wider.

"So, that is what Hev meant when he mentioned that you were working on something similar to what I need… A loyal army." Johanna confidently stated, "Project Fortnite is you making a clone army for Hev's Dread Armada."

"Oh, a very close guess!" Dr. Zee laughed out loud, clapping cheerfully. "It is true that he needed an army…"

Then the doors of the elevator opened, and beyond the immediate laboratory was a vast canyon of glass and white metal stretching out into the distance. Glass bio-vats filled with green liquid in their tens of thousands, maybe millions lined the canyon's walls. An entire square kilometre of underground facility? Perhaps six square kilometres? So wide and expansive was this underground lab that Hev's stadium-sized Dragon mech had space to fly around in. And to think this was all under Hev's Dragon Tower this entire time…

"Ah, but he did not want clones." Zee whispered knowingly- clearly drinking in her awe, "Hev grew impatient waiting for Sakaar's population to grow naturally, and this facility is the solution…"

"Was this the true reason why he always remained perched on the Dragon Tower?" Johanna whispered in awe, "So that he could build a massive cloning facility right underneath everyone's feets?"

With a casual gesture, Lucifina brought up a holographic display of one of the bio-vats- filled to the brim with what Johanna assumed to be some sort of amniotic liquid.

"For the past few weeks, Hev and I have been collecting the genetic material of everyone on Sakaar." Lucifina began, "Then we crossed them in every possible permutation to produce several children in every pairing."

Another gesture, and the holographic display showed a small fetus floating within the projected biovat. The names of the gene-donors displayed at the top left: Two Kree slaves with one already deceased.

"And with my Biotic Technology, accelerate their growth into adolescence in mere days… We used Kree neural imprinting to give them a very basic education, but ultimately, every possible child that could be born to two parents on Sakaar is produced here."

And in the display, the fetus in the bio-vat rapidly grew. From something that could fit in your hand to a full-formed adolescent over the course of a few days. Then another such bio-vat was displayed, this time with another pair of gene-donors. Then another, then another… Names scrolled through at light speed. And it appeared that what Lucifina had claimed was true, every possible combination of genetics was already archived here.

"And this is to be Hev's army?" Johanna gaped in confusion, "But why not simply clone an entire army from a powerful warrior with good genetics?"

"Because this way is more in line with Hev's darwinistic beliefs…" the Swiss doctor shrugged, "He didn't want a homogeneous clone army as that was too stagnant and orderly for his tastes. Nor did he want to make an army of 'genetically ideal' ubermensch like what you and the Americans wanted out of Erskine's formula… No, Hev wanted his soldiers to be skimmed from the top of the gene pool via natural selection. An army made solely from the battle-hardened survivors. The best of the best."

"And what is Hev's the criteria for 'the best.'" Johanna clarified, "I would hazard a guess that he wished for the strongest, fastest and most cunning of them?"

Those were the qualities that Hevnokren favoured when picking out Chosen Elites from the regular Sakaarian Raiders. Johanna would have cited 'Brutality' as a criteria, but that didn't seem necessary as everyone in the Sakaarian fleet was already willing and eager to inflict a level of butchery that Johanna hadn't even witnessed in the second world war.

"Those are indeed certainly factors, he had stated." Lucifina affirmed as she walked over to the glass window that separated them from the canyon of bio-vats, "But what he wanted were the ones most ready and capable of violence. And this is how we select them…"

Another gesture and a blue planet popped up on the holographic display… its ocean surface was dotted with evenly spaced tiny islands. Its name and galactic coordinates were proudly displayed under it.

PLANET FORTNITE

Let's play Fortnite!

44A91+21E133L

"This is Planet Fortnite: Hev's greatest contribution to the project." Lucifina smiled, "Terraformed from an ocean world using a combination of the Reality Stone, the Space Stone and his 'Thu'um.' He raised four million islands- each one no larger than 6.5 square kilometres- from the ocean floor evenly spaced across the entire surface of the planet. And on each of these islands… A battle royale between a hundred children occurs."

The display zoomed in on the planet's surface to a footage labelled 'Project Fortnite Test Run #424.' It was a bird's eye view of one of those battle royale islands. The footage was just close enough for Johanna to spot the frenzied gunfire shooting everywhere. Houses and cover were blown apart with shoulder-launched rockets and rifle grenades. And little bodies squirmed and writhed in agony as they bled out all over the fields. It was a scene that would not have looked out of place in one of the countless skirmishes of World War II.

"Ideally, at maximum capacity, four hundred million children will be tearing at each other in a frenzied orgy of violence on this world at any given moment." Lucifina hummed as if talking about the weather, "As you can see, Hev also prepared a massive arsenal beforehand for the children to use- the weapons are enchanted to magically teleport the moment the children are dropped in. The children find and pick up weapons in buildings, and they use them to kill each other."

"And if they refuse to fight?" Johanna posed the question.

"Then Hev's Storm 'kills' them." Lucifina beamed, and on the display a crackling dome of purple energy appeared over the island. "A magical energy field that electrocutes anyone that falls outside it. And it shrinks over time forcing the 'candidates' to advance closer to each other. The 'Storm' only stops shrinking until only one child remains alive. Otherwise, it shrinks to nothing and the Storm torches any survivors."

Johanna watched on as an injured Kree child crawled along a road- leaving a trail of blue blood and intestines- before the crackling wall of the shrinking purple-energy dome caught up to the child and cooked the child to a blackened char.

"The dead are teleported back here to be revived with my Biotic Technology." Lucifina explained as the holographic display switched to the charred corpse being teleported to a bio-vat and rejuvenated back into a healthy child by Zee's Biotic technology.

"And the cycle continues as they are sent back onto an island to do battle again!" Lucifina laughed. "The Reality-Stone runic arrays that Hev set in place essentially resets each island after each round- getting rid of those craters and bullet holes. Ultimately, this means that the Battle Royale islands will run themselves, and if left unsupervised and supplied with sufficient energy, these kids will be 'playing' Fortnite until the last star in the universe exhausts itself."

"Fascinating." Johanna commented sincerely- already attempting to work out the magic and technology used behind them, "But at what point are the children to be recruited for the Dread Armada?"

Lucifina's pink lips pursed in hesitation.

"Hev had decided to just let the children do a practice round of 101 battle royales while he figured out a way to factor in things like Kill-Death ratios and rankings." She sighed, "However as a general rule, children with a negative Kill-Death ratio at the end of the 101 battle royales are discarded. The 'acceptable' ones are put into cryo storage until Hev and I have improved Kree neural imprinting technology enough to teach them more useful skills in the Dread Armada like welding and stellar navigation."

"Hev also wanted to implement more incentives like things called 'a V-bucks System' and 'Item Shop.' I do not know what those are, but I suppose he will be doing those things when he returns."

"And this was the last thing that Hev worked on before he disappeared?" Johanna questioned. She was still no closer to discovering Hev's whereabouts than before being explained the details of Project Fortnite.

"Ja, he visited me here a few days ago to check on the Project's readiness." Zee shrugged. "And he gave me the green light to start as soon as I'm ready. Without him. Which was strange, because he was looking forward to being here when it launched."

"And is Project Fortnite ready to be brought online, Zee?" Johanna asked- turning to face the canyon of bio-vats stretching out into the distance. Each of them already had a child floating in their green amniotic fluid.

"Actually, yes!" the Swiss doctor reported with an eager smile. "The first batch of 500,000 participants are fully formed. And paired with the other 500,000 that Hev had either captured or purchased off slavers, that makes a million participants ready."

"And what of the… potential inductees from earth that I've heard Hev speak of?" Johannna asked with a curious tone.

"Hev apparently hasn't finished evaluating all of them." Lucifina responded, "They will likely start participating in the later rounds, but thank you for reminding me: Hev left me an order for when I was to initiate Project Fortnite."

"He did?" Johanna immediately focused on that, and the shorter blonde took a moment to recall their conversation.

"Yes…" Lucifina nodded- still trying to remember what Hev had said, "He mentioned that Hawkeye has been a bit too… passive for a bearer of a Dragon Ball as of late. And it's about time he was given a nudge into the right mindset."

"And what does that have to do with Project Fortnite?" Johanna prompted impatiently, and in response, Lucifina brought up a photo of a human child at the cusp of adolescence standing in a meadow. Just slightly older than Klee herself. The child had shoulder length brown hair as she held a bow in full draw- a look of concentration apparent on her still boyish features.

"His daughter, Lila, is a prime candidate for Project Fortnite," Lucifina explained, "And Hev instructed me to start the Project with a bang."

And with a mysterious smile, the Swiss doctor brought up her magic-comms to her ear- seemingly calling someone.

"Hello, Klee? It's Auntie Zee." The Swiss doctor happily greeted the person at the other end, much to Johanna's surprise. Was Klee a contributor to Project Fortnite as well?

"How is your friend doing?" Lucifina asked sweetly, "Lila, I think her name was. The girl who told you all about how wonderful school is?"

A minute passed as Klee was no doubt gushing animatedly about her friend. Lucifina laughing along at select points in Klee's ramble.

"Yes, I'm sure she's a sweet girl too." Zee smiled indulgently, "So, she should still have the special mini SJD that you gave her as a gift should still be with her, shouldn't she?"

A brief moment passed as Klee apparently responded with an affirmative. And Johanna's eyes widened in realisation at where this conversation was heading- at what Dr. Lucifina Zee was about to do.

"No reason." Johanna heard Zee reply in a sugary sweet voice as the Swiss doctor brought up a magi-tech detonator- her slender thumb already lightly resting on the button, "I was just making sure…"

[A Starbucks in Nevada] (One minute later)

NUKE DETONATES IN IOWA

"Damn." Nick Fury muttered horrified as he adjusted his Jheri curl wig. The news report on the TV screen looked real bad from the way the mushroom cloud was rising up from the rural countryside of Iowa. He personally went undercover for less than a week and a nuke had already gone off. But immediately, he remembered just whose family was secretly hidden in Iowa. Hurriedly, he looked around the Starbucks with his one good eye for his partner and his man-bun.

"Bart?" He called out Agent Hawkeye's cover name over the muttering crowd whose eyes were glued to the TV. No response. He rushed out of the Starbucks and out onto the street of small town Texas. It was a nice sunny day, but he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be a really shitty day for him.

"Barton?!" He shouted- looking up and down the street for any sign of his missing agent. There! A grande soy milk honey latte lay spilled and discarded on the sidewalk. Agent Hawkeye's cover drink, but no sign of the agent himself.

His burner phone was vibrating with texts, and a quick glance at it told Nick all he needed to know… and it was much worse than he thought it would.

"Motherfucker." He sighed in an angry exhale. And just as he was about to tear off his disguise and head on back to base, something caught his eye. There! At a payphone box down the street was Agent Hawkeye who looked like he was furiously dialling a number with steadily increasing desperation.

"Barton!" Nick shouted as he rushed to the panicking agent. Clint turned to look at him, and Nick immediately saw how his eyes were filled to the brim with the sheer manic desperation of a man who was fearing that he had just lost his wife and three kids.

"S-sir." Agent Hawkeye's voice quavered- his once steady hands shaking like he was in a seizure, "I can't… I can't reach their landline. And we- we don't carry cell phones in that house! Sir, you have to- They have to be okay!"

Fury gripped the panicking agent by his shoulders and shook some sense into him.

"Keep it together, agent!" Nick half-ordered and half-shouted into his face. "The nuke had likely just knocked out the telephone lines, and your family is settled far away from any major city or military installation."

"You're- You're right, sir." Clint Barton before taking a deep calming breath, "You're right. They should be alright."

"Let's return to base, Agent." Nick gave the order as he began marching for their junker sedan.

"RTB sounds good to me, sir." Clint replied- shaky but holding it together as he followed. And now Nick had to make one of the toughest calls he had to make in a while… Should he order SHIELD to apprehend Barton now or should he put a bit more trust in the agent? Can he risk it?

Because Nick already knew from a text that he had received in his burner phone: Agent Hawkeye's family was killed in that explosion.

And now, both he and Agent Hawkeye were not a good position to be in.

A man with knowledge of the Dragon Balls just lost the most precious thing he ever had: His family. And Nick knew that the moment Clint Barton realises it to be true, the ever-reliable Agent Hawkeye will become a level 3 flight risk- liable to defecting from SHIELD at the earliest opportunity he had. Because when Agent Hawkeye does find out that his family was at ground zero of that nuke, there was only one question to be answered…

Will Hawkeye be desperate enough to go after the seven Dragon Balls just to wish his family back?

[Earth Orbit] (A few hours later)

Gamora wiped the blood off from her bleeding lip, and pushed herself off her ship's floor.

She should have known this was a trick by 'Ki-Lo.' This is what she get for going along with her stupid sister's decision for once: Nebula can't make decisions worth a damn. All around the bridge of her raiding frigate were the bruised and groaning bodies of her Kree crew (thankfully still alive, because recruiting a good crew was hard these days) and at the centre of them all was their opponent- winded but unfortunately unharmed. The bastard took on her entire crew at the same time and swept the floor with them. This 'Ki-Lo' had the ability to manipulate this strange green energy to generate convincing illusions, turn himself invisible and blast people around with immense force. And the last one really cracked her ribs from how it was aching painfully.

"I am Loki… Rightful king of Asgard!" their opponent panted with a victorious smile as if besting a crew of forty Kree was just a light workout to him. The green energy that he used to trick and beat them died down and receded into him, "And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

At that declaration, a green light swept past his black raider's leathers- leaving in black and green robes with a golden horned crown instead. An Asgardian spear in his hand harkening back to an image of his father with Gungnir. His smile turned fox-like as he looked at her.

"And from what I understand of the 'Might makes Right' customs of Sakaar, you all serve me and mine now." He mentioned. "Does it not, O' former captain?"

"Not a chance." Nebula grunted- raising her buzzing electroshock batons. "I still don't think you're stronger than-"

But Gamora interrupted her sister's declaration by gripping Nebula's shoulder tightly- preventing her cyborg sister from getting herself beaten down once again. Gamora shot her sister a look: the patented 'Shut up and let me fix this mess you got us into look. And thankfully, Nebula caught that- powering down her electroshock batons with a growl.

"Why even go to Midgard, Captain?" Gamora emphasized the title while aiming the question at Loki with a pointed stare. "This was never about Thor, was it?"

"Oh, but it is." Loki guffawed in deep amusement as he made himself comfortable on the captain's chair, "Well, it isn't all about him, but a good portion of this whole trip is! We're also here to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"You see, crew…" Loki warmly began his tale like a doting grandfather, "A few decades ago, I had commissioned a belt made of seven orbs from the Dwarves of Nidavellir. It was a fine thing- forged from Uru and my blood. It granted me and only me great power as you all have no doubt just witnessed. The Dwarves forged them specially for my eventual coronation as King of Asgard. They were forged to only answer to me. However, they were taken from me and scattered across Midgard… Behold, one of the Seven Orbs of the Great King Loki!"

Gamora gasped along with the rest of the crew as Loki pulled out a fucking Dragon Ball. A shiny metal ball that was just slightly smaller than a lemon with a trio of stars embossed on its face. The very same one that she and Nebula had been searching ceaselessly for their father. And this trickster just had it on him the whole time?! She didn't know if her luck was rotten or golden to have come across this.

"How… how…" Nebula whispered blankly- staring incredulously at the sight. And Gamora could fill in the blanks: 'How were you able to get your hands on that?' But she couldn't let Loki know that they knew what it really was, so she squeezed her sister's shoulder again- digging her fingers into the pliable flesh- to make her shut up.

"How are we to find such a small thing in an entire world, Captain?" Gamora faux simpered, "We would all grow old before we even found one, much less the other six."

And that seemed to have been the correct action as Loki seemed to adore the display of servile attitude.

"Don't fret your small minds over that." the raven-haired trickster laughed condescendingly, "I can assure you that you will all live to see me ascend back onto the Throne of Asgard. Because once I am reunited with all seven, I shall be INVINCIBLE!"

And as everyone cheered for their new captain, it clicked in Gamora's head: Loki may have been lying about the origins of the Dragon Balls, but he knew where the rest of them were. And a thousand questions ran through her head: the 'hows', the 'whys, and the 'whens' of Loki knowing where they were. But that was immaterial in the face of the simple fact that he did.

"All Hail King Loki, True King of Asgard!" Gamora announced before falling to one knee- bowing her head. "All Hail King Loki!"

"All Hail King Loki!"

As the crew chorused their adulations, Gamora saw out of the corner of her eye that Nebula was looking at her with a gobsmacked expression- as if she still didn't understand that they were spies and acting out a good cover was what they did. But a quick glance at her and a subtle gesture had Nebula down on one knee as well. If nothing else, Nebula was good at following her lead… when she was willing to do so at least.

"We are at your disposal, Great King Loki." Gamora spoke- keeping her head bowed low. Normally, they would just disable Loki, take the Dragon Ball and thoroughly interrogate him for the location of the others. However… Loki was stronger, faster than them and with control over that magic energy that must be from the Dragon Ball itself. Their only advantage at the moment was that Loki did not know that they were also searching for the Dragon Balls. And even her dull sister Nebula knew it.

"Yes…" Nebula said convincingly in the same tone as she used when addressing their father. "We are at your disposal."

Her and Nebula's course of action was clear now: They'll let Loki lead them to the Dragon Balls. And once they have located it, they will contact their father who will be there with the Black Order and the Chitauri to violently wrest it from cocky former king's hands. And if this 'Earth' burned to cinders in the crossfire? Well, it was a worthy sacrifice for their father's praise.

"It pleases me that you are all acting the way I expected you to." Loki boasted with an approving nod and smile. "Set a course for this location on Midgard."

"Aye, my King!" Gamora stood up and saluted- hurrying to set the ship's bearings towards that location on one of the planet's continents.

And Gamora felt a tingle of excitement run down her spine. And to think, the Dragon Balls were already gathered on one planet. Just a little blue and green orb was standing in between her father and half the universe being saved with a snap of his fingers.

And as they descended into the atmosphere of this 'Planet Earth,' Gamora once again thanked her past self for having the foresight to pick a frigate that had cloaking.

After all, the less that knew about their search for the Dragon Ball, the better. Especially when the planet looked like it was in the throes of a war, if that mushroom cloud of superheated ash in the upper portion of the continent was any indication. She didn't know what it was over, but given that the natives of this planet were primitive half-evolved lifeforms, she could guess with a fair amount of certainty that it had perplexingly stupid reasons for it.

Loki sneered in disgust as he watched the holographic displays of the settlement.

"Right there." He pointed out to Gamora, "Land us in the middle of their collection of flimsy hovels, helmsman."

"Aye, Captain!" She replied- already selecting the correct landing protocols.

Two hundred metres of cloaked Sakaarian raiding frigate, built on Sakaar itself with the blood sweat and lives of a hundred slaves, landed in the middle of a small settlement in a desert with its denizens none the wiser. Her crew geared up for a firefight- black metal carbines and shield-harnesses glowing with Magister Johanna's Tesseract-Energy. However, Gamora felt that they were unnecessary. Judging from the background signals emanating all across the planet, the locals have barely only just recently exited their atmosphere- likely only within the last fifty years or less. Compared to most civilizations in the Andromeda galaxy where they had been spacefaring for thousands of years already. She'd bet a hundred Units that they were still using chemically-combustion weapons too.

"Alright, this will be quick." Loki boredly drawled to them as he stood from his chair. "A couple of you come with me and stay silent while I take the orb from these barely-evolved apes."

The local yellow star was high in the sky and the temperature was just slightly on the warm side. And being the gargantuan narcissist that needed to be seen, Loki simply strolled out in his black and green robes and horned golden crown, calm as he pleased and using his spear as a sort of walking stick. Gamora and Nebula marched on either side of him with a couple of the crew.

The locals had begun to notice that the cloaked ship in their little town square was not a trick of light and neither were they. But what interested her the most was the primitives who Loki was approaching: A dark-skinned male with an eyepatch, and a lighter-skinned male with a hair bun.

"The starred orb if you please." their illustrious new leader asked the two humans in their guttural pidgin language which Gamora's translator thankfully picked up, "I shall be generous and give you the chance to hand them over peacefully."

Them? Wait, what?! These primates had TWO Dragon Balls with them?

"Excuse you?" The dark-skinned male with an eyepatch puzzled, "There seems to have been some kind of mistake. Whoever you are, just know that we come in peace too. Let's talk things over."

"I make no mistakes, human." Loki dismissed with a sneer, "Certainly not in regards to my orbs, I can feel it in your possession. My patience is running thin."

Loki raised his fingers just to shoulder height- ready to snap them, and as one Gamora and the rest of the crew pointed their TE-weapons at the two. And all around them, more locals in black cloth of all things drew what looked to be chemical-combustion weapons. Yeah… they weren't going to be achieving anything with those against Sakaarian TE-carbines and shields.

"Hand. Them. Over." Loki repeated himself, and from the way his fist gripped the spear silently signalling that the violence was about to start.

And then it did.

The cute barking of their chemical-combustion weapons rang out, and the metal projectiles deflected or outright halted by the blue energy field of their TE-Shields

"Very well…" Loki growled as he charged at them with his spear while Gamora and the others gunned down the primitives. TE-carbines spewing luminous blue bolts of energy that vaporised anything that they hit. And that's when the man with the hair bun pulled an even more primitive weapon in the form of a bow. Unbidden, Gamora felt an incredulous smile tug at her lips at the sight of it. Look at this primitive with his high-tech weapon. Then from said primitive weapon, an energy bolt was launched that blasted a hole straight through one of her crew's TE-shields and his upper torso.

She immediately ducked for cover before her crewmate's body even dropped to the ground.

"Someone get the ship's guns firing!" Gamora shouted over the chaos of the fighting. They scything down the primitives, but the one with a bow- likely the bearer of a Dragon Ball- was also cutting her crew down with his arrows that seemed to pierce right through everything!

And to make matters worse, lightning began to scorch the earth around them and strike their shields with the force of a cannon. The primitive human's reinforcement arrived, it seemed. Riding on a four-legged animal, a muscled humanoid shot lightning at them from his odd weapons.

"I have come to answer your call for aid, Nick Fury!" the muscled humanoid declared… with a thick Asgardian accent. "Yeee-Haaaaww!"

What? There weren't supposed to be Asgardians on this planet! Could they?

"Thor!" her 'captain' howled out in rage. Wait, that was Prince Thor?

"Loki?!" The former Prince of Asgard shouted incredulously. "What are you doing here in Tex-As? What has happened to Asgard for you to be here, attacking my allies?"

"On my way to reclaim the throne, of course!" Loki grinned before his smile curdled into a rageful sneer. "When Fa- Odin exhausted himself when he exiled you, it fell to me to be the King of Asgard. But then the warlord Hevnokren tore me off it and put his Governess- your upstart little sister- on the throne. Now I'm here to claim what is rightfully mine! You have no idea of the power I wield. No idea of what I will be able to accomplish! Once I claim all seven orbs, I shall be the supreme ruler of the Nine Realms. And no one will be able to take it away from me! Not even Odin will be able to deny me what has rightfully been mine from the very beginning!"

Thor seemed to falter in the face of Loki's angered tirade- his arms lowering down to his sides as the former prince looked at the former king with stark disbelief and mouth agape.

"We have a little sister?" Thor whispered incredulously, "Sylvie is our little sister?"

And it was Loki's turn to be given pause.

"Truly, Thor?" He angrily demanded, "From my entire speech, that's what you take to heart?!"

"...I always wanted a little sister to dote on!" Thor smiled as if Loki had just given him something he had been wishing for.

"Arrrggghhh!" Loki roared wordlessly as his green energies once again swirled around him like a gathering superstorm, "Have at thee, you dolt!"

Then just like in the fight that saw her entire crew beat down, the gathered storm exploded out from Loki.

"TAKE COVER!" Gamora shrieked- just before everything went black for her.

(An unknown amount of time later)

Gamora was roused from unconsciousness by cold water pouring over her face.

She immediately tried to jump to her feet, but found that she was restrained- tied down to a chair within an empty room with what she assumed to be a one-sided window. An interrogation, it seemed; and a quick flex of her muscles told her that the rope must have been made of extremely strong steel rather than woven fibre.

"Let the history books say that I did try for a peaceful first contact with your people." the dark-skinned eyepatched male told her with a disappointed shake of his head, "You guys don't like Kree or Skrulls… Let's start with something simple. Name and rank?"

Gamora didn't respond- too busy trying to getting a feel for the chair she was tied to. This wouldn't be the first time she escaped an interrogation, likely wouldn't be the last.

"It's over, just talk." He sighed impatiently as he stood in front of her. Head to toe in black and having done away with what was apparently fake hair- leaving him bald. But that only made his shadow that loomed over her all the more menacing.

"Most of your crew is dead." He began in a matter-of-fact tone, "The others that weren't flew off with your ship, and Loki has run into the desert after Thor and the Hawkeye tag teamed his sorry green ass. And unfortunately for you, I don't have time for your bullshit."

A vicious backhand struck her face. Strong. Stronger than what a frail humans should have been capable of.

"Cuz every second that we don't know if you're a precursor to a full-scale invasion is a second that might just cause a thousand innocent lives to be snuffed out in the all-too-near future!" He growled before sighing.

He glanced at the one-way mirror.

"Can you give us some privacy? But stay vigilant." he ordered his troops who were no doubt right behind the mirror before turning to look her in the eye once again and his voice lowering to a whisper.

"Talk…" His deep voice sounded like he was almost pleading with her, "Or you're going to have to use something that I really was hoping not to use."

And for a whole minute, he waited for her… then he just sighed as he gripped her hair in a tightened fist clad in black leather- forcefully tilting her head up to face him.

"Now…" he calmly stated, "Look me in the eye and give me what I need to know."

And with a steady hand, he lifted up his black leather eyepatch, and Gamora recoiled with a fearful gasp as- sitting in the man's scared face… and staring straight into her soul…

…was a shiny metal ball that was just slightly smaller than a lemon with seven stars embossed on its face.

"Who. do. you. work. for?" His voice carefully enunciated every word.

And despite the soul-deep fear rushing through her, Gamora tried to empty her thoughts- reveal nothing in the face of an unknown power, but just a flash was all it took… a single flash of her father's rare smiling face. And that was all it took. Unbidden, against her will, and with an extraordinary amount of pain, the memories came rushing forth to the forefront of her mind.

'Perfectly balanced as all things should be…'

'Rally the Chitauri. Summon the Black Order…'

'My daughters, You will not fail in this mission that I am about to send you on…'

'I only need one of you to continue reporting back to me…'

'The Dragon Balls are the means to our ultimate victory…'

'With them, my destiny will be fulfilled- tipping the cosmic scales to balance and grant the universe its salvation…'

"Gaagggghhh!" Gamora came back to hear herself and the man groaning in pain.

Her thoughts were in a jumbled disarray as if her entire mind had been hastily rearranged.

"That stings like a motherfucker!" She heard him exclaim as he leaned against the wall panting… then a grim realisation filled her veins with ice. This human now knew…. He knew about the wider galaxy, about her mission, about the Dragon Balls, and worst of all… he knew about her father. And regardless of how unwilling it may be, she had betrayed her father all the same. She was a failure… She was doomed.

* H*

Then Nebula of all people came barrelling through the door- having done away with her disguise to reveal her blue skin and extensive cybernetics.

"What in the goddamn- Arrggh!" The human tried to draw his sidearm, but Nebula's electroshock baton found his chest first- the violent torrent of electricity coursing through him and until he crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"You can thank me later." Nebula grunted as she began cut through the ropes with her cybernetic arm's plasma blade attachment. "The ship's gone, and we're stranded on this backwater planet until further notice. But we just need a means to notify father that all the Dragon Balls are here, and he'll come for us and the Dragon Balls with the Black Order and the entire chitauri fleet."

"W-waiz, Nel- Neb-!" Gamora desperately tried to call her sister's attention, but the effects of the Dragon Ball had seemingly made a mess of her ability to form speech. No, Nebula! The Dragon Ball is right there! All you have to do was pluck it out of his skull!

But ignorant to the words that was failing her, Nebula just hefted Gamora across her shoulders and made a run for it- dashing down hallways and out under the starry night sky. And Gamora could do nothing but watch as the facility where the unconscious human and his Dragon Ball was disappeared into the distance.

[S.H.I.E.L.D. Secure Comms Terminal Room]

Nick Fury was of the opinion that this just ain't his week.

A nuke in Iowa, Agent Hawkeye and his Dragon Ball almost a level 3 flight risk, aliens with Tesseract weapons just dropping in to claim the Dragon Balls for themselves, lots of good men and women dead, Loki escaping into the night, his 'secure' SHIELD facility broken into, him being shocked unconscious, more aliens escaping into the night, the looming threat of an entire alien armada coming to earth and his head was still fucking killing him after using his Dragon Ball.

"And this is why you should be focusing on Phase 2, Director." The World Security Council member stressed to him. And that was the straw that broke his camel back after carrying these geezers this far.

"Phase 2? PHASE 2?!" Fury's voice rose to almost a shout, "Our enemy already has their phase 2 up and running as you can see from the Tesseract weapons that they used to mow down my agents! No, our Phase 2 won't be ready for a few years, and what we need is something that we can use within the next few months that can punch through their shields. All because Loki and those two alien chicks are still out there. If even one of those ETs phone fucking home to this 'Thanos' guy, then Earth is going to be up shit creek without a paddle, and at least half of all humanity will be capped. We need a response team!"

"Calm down, Director." one of the council members sighed, and Fury made a show of taking a deep calming breath.

"The Avengers Initiative was shut down, Director." Another council member reminded him.

"This isn't about the Avengers." Fury calmly assured them, "We need a response team."

But that five word sentence just wasn't getting through their thick liver-spotted skulls, it seemed.

"We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of the human race to a handful of freaks?" A council member clarified, and Fury had to hold himself back from saying what he really wanted to say: 'No, I'm running the show. You're all sitting on your wrinkly asses telling me what to do and pelting me with peanuts like I was a goddamn circus monkey.'

"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team." Fury diplomatically said instead, "These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need."

And a minute passed by in silence as the council members seemed to mull it over.

"Well, there is no reason why we can't work on Phase 2 and the Avengers Initiative in parallel." the councilman finally considered, "We'll increase SHIELD funds accordingly. However, the list itself…"

"Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, Dr. Ziegler and… Spiderman." Another councilman enumerated back to him, "We're looking down the barrel of a full scale alien invasion, and you believe that the five of them will be enough?"

And Fury had to close his one good eye so that he wouldn't glare the council member to death.

'Fucking really? You were just bitching about the Avengers Initiative not three sentences ago, and now you're bitching that I didn't do enough of it?'

"The list does seem a bit short for the task that they are supposed to tackle, Director." A councilwoman agreed, and Fury wished he had an arm long enough to reach over to wherever the hell she was and strangle her.

"I know… I know, Councilwoman." Fury just sighed helplessly- massaging his temples, "I'm working on it."

The council members seemed to nod in approval, as if they had done their jobs.

"Our number one priority is finding someone who can be called an expert on these Dragon Balls." The asshat-in-charge suggested to him.

'Gee, that sounds suspiciously like what I had been trying to do before a nuke exploded on American soil and the aliens did a drive-by on a SHIELD base!'

"Easier said than done, Councilman." Fury muttered in an even voice. "I don't think the magic wish dragon that made the balls in the first place is going to stop by and help us find it."

"Your glibness does you no credit, Director." The councilman immediately chastised him. And for the fourth time in so many days, Director Nicholas J. Fury regretted ever taking this job in the first place.

[Dragon Cabin] (24 hours later)

I felt so weak and drained as I groggily sat up from the operating table.

"Ugh… what was I doing again?" I groaned out as I sat up- clutching my head with both hands. "Something about operating myself?"

And that's when I noticed that my hands were far too slender, and my voice far too feminine. And for a good ten seconds, I stared at them in confusion before I remembered. Right… for some reason that I can't precisely recall, the operation was more preferable while I was in my Barbara form. Just a pretty girl in her early teens. With ash-blonde pigtails, a gentle face and a white frock dress with blue trimmings. The outfit was admittedly comfy though.

Stumbling out of the Dragon Cabin and onto the roof deck of my Dragon Tower, my small frame groggily shuffled to sit down on the tower's edge- a kilometre drop stretching beneath my white stocking-clad legs.

"Mmmm.. the breeze is nice." I breathed as my Dragon Form sat down just behind me. Its gravelly voice like crumbling boulders rumbled in a murmur. "It feels like ages since I felt the breeze on my face, the Dragon Cabin is comfy but fresh air is much appreciable too."

"You came from inside the Dragon Cabin? Interesting…"

That was a weird way to phrase it, but okay.

"Mhm, and even now, I can't hear a thing through the Hevnokrenite." My soft, feminine voice murmured- closing my eyes and just drinking in the sounds of Sakaar: that of gunfire, explosions and general chaos, but to me, it was as quiet as soft classical music.

"It looks like it's about to rain…" I commented, and I didn't want to get wet just as I got out of an operation.

"Lok Vah Koor!"

(Sky, Spring, Summer)

"The Thu'um? Very interesting indeed…"

"Much better." I whispered as I basked in the warm rays of the Sakaarian sun. My steel-blue eyes admired the sight- how the setting sun painted the Sakaarian sky in a beautiful haze of orange and purples mixing like watercolours. And an odd, unfamiliar feeling washed over me.

"Just sweet, sweet silence now." I gave a relieved sigh with a small smile, "Not hearing stupid thoughts and even stupider prayers through the Hevnokrenite is an underappreciated quality. But for a split second before everything was silent…It was almost like I could feel the universe."

The gargantuan metal dragon looming above me.

"Oh, and what did it feel like?"

And I closed my eyes and remembered the fevered thoughts of those who carried my Hevnokrenite.

My raiders who wore my Amulets, my waifus who cradled their rings, my victims who coveted my Dragon Balls. And for one glorious moment, it had felt like I was the god that heard all their ardent prayers and witnessed all the actions they did to venerate me. Across the Andromeda galaxy, several planets were being raided right this very moment. Millions of souls were being put in chains and sold as slaves, hundreds of millions more simply slain in a mad orgy of violence and destruction. My raiders' hearts and minds roared in victory as they gorged themselves on the plunder they've earned through strength of arms.

On Earth, those who carried my Dragon Balls looked to the stars as they were lulled by the siren song of all their greatest wishes coming true. And all they had to do was swim in a violent whirlpool of greed and ambition to realise their wish.

I looked up at my stadium-sized dragon form and gave a brilliant smile.

"It feels like the entire universe has found what it truly means to be free." I breathed with a gentle smile- standing up to my feet right on the edge of the Dragon's Tower. "It's the freedom that can only be found when you hold a gun in your hand, and realise that you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. The freedom that comes when you realise that everything you ever wanted in life was right there within your reach, and all you had to do was to take it by force."

"Are you certain that's what you felt from everyone who was wielding Hevnokrenite?"

"Certain!" My gentle voice chirped as I gave an overly cutesy smile like I was some anime girl. And my Dragon Form let out an exhale of amusement. "Good and evil… free to do as they wish! Neither of them, constrained by law or social obligation. Only the need to be strong enough to keep doing what they wish to do.

"The good disencumbered of regulation oversight…" I gestured to the Favonius Knights HQ in the distance, "Free to follow the goodness in their hearts wherever it leads. Soup kitchens for the hungry, affordable housing for the homeless, safety and security for the frightened… all bought with the strong armoured fist of the Favonius knight as they looted and pillaged from the evil hat they slew…"

"The evil unbound by petty laws…" I gestured to the Slaver's Square, "Free to accept the desires they were born with and fulfil them however they please. Slave brothels for the degenerates, torture exhibitions for the sadistic, and restaurants specializing in cannibalism for the gluttons… all bought with the claw and teeth of the Sakaarian raiders as they loot and pillage from the worlds of good."

"Might makes Right." my soft feminine voice declared with a victorious smile. "When I first arrived here on Sakaar, I thought that it would suffice if I was the only one practising it. But it is deeply satisfying to see other people take the saying to heart."

"That sounds poetic and all, but I am free to not give a damn about other people. Accurately listening to other people's thoughts through the Hevnokrenite has made you eye-rollingly philosophical. Which brings us to the issue that you have yet to realise is upon us…"

Immediately and without warning, a draconic clawed hand encased my entire body in an unyielding grip.

"W-what?!" I whispered in startled confusion- staring up at the gargantuan metal dragon in askance. Why can't I will it to unhand me? Why was my Dragon Form even moving autonomously? Was this an imposter Dragon who snuck in my place? How was that even possible? And why can't I feel where my Dragon Form was?

"Just what the fuck was happening?!" my feminine voice cracked with rising panic, but I tensed as the giant, stadium-sized metal dragon lifted me closer to its face- glowing blue eyes as large as cars staring right at me with deep suspicion as he spoke ten words to me in a curious almost casual tone. Ten words to turn my blood turned to ice. Ten words to fill my belly with pure dread.

Ten little words to make me realise that I was in for the fight of my life.

"I am Hevnokren."

"So, who are you supposed to be?"

- Chapter 21: A Dragon God Plays with Fire End -