Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"Most people in this world have no idea what’s coming," Evenson said, adopting the solemn expression of a man burdened by forbidden knowledge. "But even if we told them the truth, they wouldn’t believe it. Worse, we’d create chaos before anyone listened."

History wasn’t kind to prophets.

Sometimes they were revered.

More often they were feared.

And when every prophecy predicted disaster, people tended to shoot the messenger instead of preparing for the storm.

Imagine waking up in a fantastic mood only to have a hooded stranger carrying a crooked staff step into your path.

"You’re terminal. You’re going to die soon."

The average person wasn’t going to collapse to their knees and beg for salvation.

They’d probably punch the lunatic in the face first.

"So you want to guide people gradually," Aurecess said, immediately understanding his point. "Steer them toward the right choices without them realizing they’re being steered."

She shook her head.

"That’s far more difficult than simply telling them."

"The people capable of doing that," Sacrolash continued, "always possess enormous influence. Political power. Military strength. Reputation. Only then will others listen to them... and only then can they quietly alter the course of history."

She studied him.

"Do you have an organization like that?"

"I’m building one."

Evenson answered without the slightest hesitation.

"It already has a solid foundation."

"How solid?" Sacrolash asked.

"About the size of the Council of the Black Harvest."

Both twins rolled their eyes simultaneously.

There were five members.

Including Evenson.

And one dog.

Hardly the sort of organization that reshaped civilizations.

Seeing their expressions, Evenson hurried to defend himself.

"We may be small, but we’ve already established a reputation."

"A shell," Aurecess replied mercilessly.

"People know the name."

"They don’t know the substance."

"You’ve built a brand, not an institution."

"You can leverage that for short-term gains, but it isn’t enough to influence the world."

She had a point.

Ever since the Umbrella Company had appeared on the scene, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had begun paying close attention to the mysterious newcomer.

But attention alone wasn’t power.

As for the benefits...

Well...

The company’s CEO and Head of Security were still walking to work.

"So..." Sacrolash smiled knowingly.

"You want us to turn that empty shell into something real."

"Exactly."

Evenson nodded.

"If we’re going to survive what’s coming..."

"If we’re going to protect the Legion’s future prize..."

"...and preserve everything we’ve built here..."

"...we need an organization of our own."

At the moment, he was playing an increasingly dangerous game between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.

He lied to one.

Then lied to the other.

Eventually, someone would compare notes.

And when that happened...

He’d need more than clever words to survive.

There was also the matter of the reclusive order of mages still searching for whoever had managed to kill two of their members.

Evenson had no desire to be found.

Until he became powerful enough to overwhelm every enemy personally, the safest shield was influence.

A legitimate organization.

One the public trusted.

One governments hesitated to challenge.

"Then why involve us?" Sacrolash asked. "Why not build it yourself?"

Evenson laughed.

"Because everyone knows who I am."

S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed his complete file.

Local police had records stretching back to his childhood.

His neighbors had watched him grow up.

How exactly was he supposed to transform overnight into the mysterious mastermind behind a globe-spanning organization?

He needed someone else to stand in the spotlight.

Originally he’d considered using one of his demons.

Unfortunately, aside from Sarah, none of them possessed anything resembling common sense.

And Sarah, while capable, lacked the experience to manage an organization of that scale.

The Eredar Twins were different.

They had spent millennia commanding demons and coordinating armies.

Managing humans wasn’t identical, but leadership was leadership.

Negotiation.

Politics.

Public image.

Convincing different people to hear exactly what they wanted to hear.

As Kil’jaeden’s former lieutenants, those skills were practically second nature.

"There is one problem," Aurecess said.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Do you truly trust us with something this important?"

"Not completely."

Evenson answered honestly.

"Which is why we’ll sign another contract."

He produced another infernal parchment.

"The terms are simple."

"We become equal owners of the Umbrella Company."

"No major decision can be made unless all three of us approve it."

Sacrolash grinned.

"What happened to majority rule?"

Evenson stared at her.

"Between the two of you?"

"You’ve shared the same opinion for the past twenty-five thousand years."

"If voting were based on majority rule, I’d only ever have two options."

He counted them off.

"Agree."

"Or lose."

The twins laughed.

Fair enough.

Just before the contract was signed, Aurecess suddenly raised a finger.

"Wait."

She looked at him suspiciously.

"We’re helping you build an organization."

"What exactly do we gain?"

Evenson gestured around the nightclub.

"Is this really enough for you?"

He smiled.

"When this succeeds, you’ll become public figures admired across the world."

"You’ll experience the thrill of manipulating billions through carefully crafted lies."

"You’ll wield influence at the highest levels of human civilization."

"For creatures like you..."

"...isn’t that reward enough?"

Then he added the final piece.

"And we preserve this world."

"Our sanctuary."

"For the Legion."

The twins exchanged a long look.

Their eyes flickered with amusement.

"For the Legion."

They signed.

After Evenson left, Sacrolash snorted.

"’For the Legion.’"

She laughed quietly.

"He says it as though he’s the model of loyalty."

Aurecess slipped her arms around her sister from behind.

"We’re acting too."

Her smile slowly faded.

"Our options are limited."

"If this world falls..."

"...we’ll have to cross the Twisting Nether."

She felt Sacrolash’s body tense.

"Kil’jaeden won’t forgive us."

Neither sister spoke again.

They both knew exactly what awaited deserters.

Deep inside a hidden laboratory at Hammer Industries, an outraged voice shattered the silence.

"What in God’s name is that?!"

Justin Hammer stood frozen.

The laboratory was dimly lit.

At its center sat a massive cylindrical incubation tank connected to countless cables and monitoring devices.

Suspended inside pale green nutrient fluid...

...floated Habus in his true demonic form.

Sarah had been working at Hammer Industries for quite some time now.

Justin had provided everything she’d requested.

Equipment.

Funding.

Laboratory space.

But eventually every investor wanted results.

He could accept failure.

He could even accept a corpse.

What he couldn’t accept was months of spending with nothing tangible to show for it.

Unfortunately...

Sarah knew almost nothing about biological enhancement technology.

After the Abomination incident, Evenson had also forbidden further experiments involving fel-induced mutations.

Forced to improvise, she’d simply ordered Habus to reveal his true form, connected him to enough tubes to look scientific, and submerged him inside the incubation tank.

If anyone asked...

It was experimental biotechnology.

Technically.

"Biological Combat Organism," Sarah said in her usual emotionless voice as she appeared beside the tank.

"Designation: Kronos."

Justin frowned.

"This isn’t what we agreed on."

His voice carried barely restrained irritation.

He had just come from Ivan Vanko’s laboratory.

Government pressure to produce military hardware was growing stronger by the day.

Umbrella’s biological weapons remained little more than promises, so Justin hadn’t dared present them to the Pentagon yet.

If he oversold the project and it collapsed, Umbrella could simply disappear.

He’d be the one left explaining the disaster.

To make matters worse, Ivan had infuriated him by redesigning the Iron Soldier program into remotely operated combat drones without consulting him once.

The convicted murderer Justin had rescued from prison now treated him like an inconvenience.

If Ivan weren’t still useful, Justin would have buried him in concrete.

Now Sarah had done something similar.

Enhanced soldiers had somehow become... whatever this was.

And once again, no one had bothered asking the owner of the company.

Sarah ignored him completely, her gaze remaining fixed on Habus as bubbles drifted lazily toward the surface.

Justin finally snapped.

He marched in front of her.

"Don’t you think I deserve an explanation?"

Sarah slowly turned.

Her icy gaze met his.

Justin’s anger evaporated.

Right.

This wasn’t Ivan.

This was Umbrella’s representative.

Someone he absolutely could not afford to antagonize.

He forced a smile.

"My apologies."

"I was only surprised."

"This isn’t quite what I expected."

"It is exactly what we discussed," Sarah replied calmly.

"They are enhanced soldiers."

"They simply originate from animals instead of humans."

"Animals?" Justin blinked.

"Why not human subjects?"

"The animal model can be mass-produced."

"The human model cannot."

"Technical limitations?"

"No."

"Social limitations."

Sarah finally faced him directly.

"Human cloning remains controversial."

"Large-scale enhancement of human soldiers would be even less acceptable."

She paused.

"Do you believe the public would tolerate armies of artificially modified humans?"

"But Captain America..."

"Is a unique case."

She cut him off immediately.

"There is one Captain America."

"Not one hundred thousand."

She pointed toward the tank.

"Maximizing combat efficiency also requires extensive physical alterations."

She looked directly into Justin’s eyes.

"Do you think the public would accept that?"

Justin glanced at Habus.

Then imagined those scales, claws, and writhing tentacles growing from a human body.

He grimaced.

Only the most deranged horror enthusiast would call that acceptable.

"Animals are different," Sarah continued.

"They cannot refuse."

"The public is also far less likely to object."

"There will always be extremist animal rights activists."

"I assume the Department of Defense is capable of ignoring them."

Justin almost laughed.

The military sold weapons designed to kill people.

Animal rights protests weren’t exactly high on their list of concerns.

"I’ll admit..."

He nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

He looked back toward the enormous creature floating inside the tank.

"So how effective is this... Kronos?"

Sarah answered without hesitation.

"The scales resist most small-arms fire."

"The claws and teeth can tear through the strongest ballistic fibers currently in service."

"Their sense of smell can detect concealed enemies buried underground from nearly two miles away."

She folded her hands behind her back.

"They are a nightmare for light infantry."

"And armored vehicles?"

"They can reach speeds exceeding thirty-seven miles per hour."

"Fast enough to overtake tanks or armored personnel carriers."

"If explosive charges are attached beforehand..."

"...destroying heavy armor becomes straightforward."

"Some people may object on humanitarian grounds."

"I don’t."

Justin slowly nodded.

That sounded horrifying.

Which, from a military procurement perspective...

Was encouraging.

"And most importantly," Sarah concluded, "they’re inexpensive."

"Once production is scaled up, each unit will cost less than equipping a single U.S. soldier."

"They require no salary."

"No pensions."

"No medical benefits."

"And they never complain about the food."

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