ALL NOVEL Chapter 353: Prepared for the Worst
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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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Chapter 353: Prepared for the Worst
13th June 2013, Thaddeus Ross' Office
(Thaddeus Ross POV)
Ross gritted his teeth and opened his phone to see the footage sent to him. It didn't show much, only that everything happened in a single frame. Everything was looking fine; the prisoners were all locked up and their gear was fine. And in the next frame, they were all replaced by toys. It was madness. Whoever had done this wanted to rescue the Avengers. It was probably Stark; he was the only one with the pull and technology to pull something like this.
Before he could say anything, he was called by the President of the United States. How did he know about this so quickly? The former General responded, "Hello,"
The President seemed to be calm and very nervous at the same time, "Thaddeus, we have a big problem."
Oh, he didn't like the sound of that at all.
Well, it didn't take long to see the damage caused by Stark's little temper tantrum. Because it was obviously Stark who had done so, as a response for arresting his teammates. The videos were posted minutes after the Avengers' arrests, and around the same time as their incomprehensible escape.
Alas, it didn't matter who did it, only that it did happen. Ross' career was practically over, but worst of all, his project, his dream of a better world was as good as dead. The Accords were the pinnacle of his life's work, his masterpiece. He was able to convince the world to legally oppress people with powers. Had Stark not ruined it, by the end of the year, Ross would have tagged and recruited most of the people with superpowers in the country. He would have had a veritable army of superweapons, ready to serve their country – willingly or not. There are methods to force compliance to uncooperative subjects, after all.
He would have even been able to rouse the hidden mutants from society. Oh, he knew that they didn't disappear, but after Magneto and Xavier's deaths, the mutant factions were dissolved and there were very few major conflicts. All known mutants fled and disappeared, and the unknown ones hid their powers and lived under the radar. That's what the analysists said anyway. The Accords would have given them a way to stop hiding who they were, a pretense of freedom, where they would be monitored and arrested the moment, they cross any line.
Yes, the Accords were unjust and oppressive, but they had to be. He needed to bring order into a world where a teenager could blow up a street in a temper tantrum, the rules needed to be strict. They first needed for things to become orderly, before they could relax the restrictions.
But Stark had ruined all of this, he had somehow bugged the devices of every person that Ross had convinced of the Accords' viability, and brought all of their dirt forward. Ross' own classified documents regarding his encounters with the Hulk and his relentless pursuit of him, ended up on the web. That's not even mentioning many of his meetings, including the one where he told his subordinates to release the Abomination. The meeting with Reed, pressuring him into convincing Stark to sign was the cherry on top.
Ross came off like some power-hungry monster instead of the patriotic soldier he was deep down. Well, the Accords lost most of their credibility with that stunt, and Ross sincerely hoped that Stark was proud of himself. The future was now uncertain, but a war between humans and the Enhanced was very probable.
The Secretary of State needed to find a way out of this mess, which was why he was planning on visiting the Avengers Tower as soon as possible. He was practically on his way out when his receptionist buzzed, "What is it, Mary?"
"Bolivar Trask is here to see you, sir." The woman responded.
The Secretary of State stifled a groan; he really didn't have the energy to deal with Trask at this moment. He was a businessman that was a snake through and through. Unfortunately, the man was also a very heavy sponsor of the Accords, and now that they were in jeopardy, the man came either to collect or to put more pressure on Ross. Well, he might as well bite the bullet, "Let him in."
A minute later, the dwarf genius entered his office with an arrogant swagger. The former General wanted to punch him in the face immediately, "Dr. Trask, I wasn't expecting you."
"Well, with how things are suddenly spiraling out of control, I thought that some impulsivity was required. I couldn't just wait for the usual channels to arrange a meeting. So, I chose to come and see you as soon as possible." The man responded.
Ross wasn't in the mood for political talks, "Look, what do you want Trask? You already know how much I have to deal with. Just say your piece and let me try to salvage this situation."
The dwarf chuckled, "You're misunderstanding my presence here. I am not here to admonish you or ridicule you, I am here to help you – how did you put it? – oh yes, 'salvage the situation'."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"Well, you do know that the UN had given me a contract to create machines that would help enforce the Accords. Well, I am done. It took a lot of time and experimentation, but I have finally built the ultimate anti-Enhanced weapons. They will not remain unchecked for much longer," the businessman bragged.
"Yes, but the Accords are already in contention," Ross answered, "these machines will be useless if they are redacted or voted out."
"Perhaps, but the Accords are in jeopardy because of the Avengers. Prove to the world that you can enforce the Accords, that you can defy the Avengers, that you can protect humanity in their stead, and you will be respected and feared enough that no one would dare oppose what you stand for," the dwarf monologued.
The man wasn't really wrong. Oh, he thought he was manipulating Ross, and that would be funny, if it wasn't for the mess he was dealing with. But yes, as far as Ross could see, nothing would be able to change the public opinion about the Accords. No one could take back the videos and leaked documents that are online. The only way forward, with even the slightest chance at salvaging the Accords would be with a show of force. An implicit threat of what might happen if the Accords do not go through. And what better show of power was there, than defeating 'Earth's mightiest Heroes'. Unfortunately, with Richards ghosting his calls, there was nothing he could do on that front.
"A nice idea," the former General commented, "but we can't deal with them, especially with Stark's technology. We simply lack the firepower to do so."
"Not anymore," Trask affirmed, "This is what I have made for the UN. This is the Sentinel program."
The dwarf put a small cube on his desk, and a hologram appeared. Nonetheless, Ross was speechless at what he saw. It was the designs of a suit that looked even more advanced than Stark's, with some kind of adaptive technology.
The former General stared at the designs and blueprints with awe, "Is this a suit?"
"No, General, this isn't a suit. This is a fully autonomous drone with a basic targeting and combat artificial intelligence. I was able to create a scanner capable of detecting a type of radiation that comes from most mutants and a few types of Enhanced beings. I will admit that I wasn't able to replicate Stark's power source, but a few of the Chitauri cores from the invasion fixed that issue. The Sentinels are capable of flight, and hold a lot of fire power. They will not tire, and they will not make any mistakes. But the most impressive thing is the advancement in adaptive nanotechnology that was able to make them adaptive to practically any opponent. They are also made almost entirely out of adamantium, and thus are practically indestructible. These are the ultimate weapons against mutants. The swords of humanity. They are my masterpieces and I know that you'll use them well. Show the world that might does not make right, that the Avengers can be held accountable as well."
The Secretary of State would never admit to it, but he was completely taken by the speech. These were the answer, the ultimate firepower he needed, to make his dreams come true. This was the proper way of making sure that order was maintained.
He steeled himself and asked, "How many have you made so far?"
"Ten exactly," the genius answered, "I was going to present them in the next meeting, but, as you probably know, things didn't really go according to plan."
"Transport them here as soon as you can. I will need to use them soon."
The dwarf gave him a wide smile, "I'm sure that you'll use them wisely. The Sentinels should be ready and at your disposal this afternoon. Now, I know that you're a busy man, so I will let you be. If you have any issues or questions, this is my private number. Goodbye, Mr. Secretary, and good luck."
The man left a card on his desk and walked away. Ross, though, didn't really care. He had found his answer. The Sentinels couldn't have come at a better time. The detection system that Trask had made could be used and distributed worldwide as to make sure that no mutant would be able to hide. The Sentinels themselves were the weapons that the Iron Man suit should have been in the first place. They would be enough to deal with most opponents, but doubts started to appear in Ross' mind.
He had seen the Hulk firsthand, could they deal with someone like Banner, who can destroy buildings with a punch, and travel miles with a single jump? The answer was a resounding no. They would give Stark and his little army of Iron Men trouble, probably even defeat them. They would decimate Steve Rogers, and the rest of the Avengers without any issue. Thor was off world which was a good thing. But the main problem was the Hulk. Richards wasn't answering him, and thus neither the drug the genius created, nor the syringe to bypass Banner's skin, would be available to him to fight against the green gamma monster.
"Fine," the former General murmured to himself, "I'll do it myself."
Yes, he would. It was something of a last resort, but if he doesn't succeed with his mission, everything he ever worked for would turn to dust, and he couldn't let that happen.
Ross walked to a painting on his wall and removed it, revealing the safe hidden behind. After unlocking it, he took out a silver briefcase and closed the safe once more.
He sat down at his desk and opened the case. Inside, was a red serum that was glowing ominously. It was something that the labs had discreetly made. He had found around a pint of Banner's blood after the mess with Blonsky years back. He asked the labs to somehow synthesize what made Banner into the Hulk, and they failed. The result was too unstable. Until, that is, one of the scientists had the bright idea to combine their failed batches with the Extremis virus from another company that the military acquired.
Of course, the result was explosive, and the batches destroyed, except for a single vial, where the two serums were able to counteract each other somehow and become stable. The science was above him, but he had on his hand, an untested serum filled with the powers of the Hulk and the Extremis virus. Honestly, he normally wouldn't have done anything this reckless, but he had no choice.
Ross gritted his teeth and plunged the serum into his leg. He did his best to stifle the scream as the power coursed through his blood. Oh, he could feel the power alright. As the man's eyes grew red, and his skin started to change, despite the agony, Thaddeus Ross let out a bloodthirsty smile.
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