Alex Ray knew exactly who was calling the moment he heard the voice. On the other end of the line, Thor was cursing furiously.
Still, Alex couldn't help but admire the guy. Even stripped of his divine powers, Thor had the audacity to provoke agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Frankly, Alex was curious to see if Thor might actually get shot without his hammer.
Right then, the actual owner of the phone—Professor Erik Selvig—spoke up. "Hey, man, here's the situation. I need you to find Mr. Alex Ray. I know you're working at the community school in Hell's Kitchen. S.H.I.E.L.D. has detained me and two of my students because of this guy who keeps calling himself Thor!"
Before Selvig could finish, Thor's voice blared through again. "Alex Ray! Come and save me! These mortals dare to kidnap me! When I reclaim Mjolnir, they will pay the price!"
"Damn it, he just attacked another agent," Selvig exclaimed in frustration. "He claims to know Alex Ray. He says only Alex can get him out. And those S.H.I.E.L.D. bastards confiscated my research too! Adrian, help me!"
Hearing all this, Alex exchanged a glance with the Vulture, who was staring at him intently.
Alex coughed and calmly addressed the phone. "Hello, sir. Take a breath, alright? I'm Alex Ray. Let's try to stay calm. I think I've got the gist. If I heard right, you said it was S.H.I.E.L.D. that detained you? I'm pretty familiar with their people. Why don't you fill me in a little more?"
"If things get complicated, have them come find me in Hell's Kitchen."
Before Professor Selvig could respond, Thor was shouting again, "Alex Ray! Come here now and tell them who I am! These idiots want to imprison me!"
Alex was tempted to hang up. He really didn't want to deal with this lunatic again.
Why was he running into Thor now, of all times, when he'd finally gotten a few days of rest? Thor kept repeating that he wasn't the "God of Hammers" and ranted about getting Mjolnir back.
Clearly, the Thor storyline was starting. And Alex was being dragged into the mess whether he liked it or not.
But Alex was a man of his word. After all, he'd taken Odin's treasure and promised to look after his children. He didn't have a choice.
Then, a new voice suddenly came through the line. It was calm, unfamiliar, and authoritative.
"Hello. You must be Mr. Alex Ray—the Lord of Hell."
"Who are you?" Alex asked, frowning.
He could tell this person was from S.H.I.E.L.D., but the voice didn't match anyone he knew. He had assumed it would be Coulson—who seemed to show up everywhere.
But this voice was someone he hadn't encountered before.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said smoothly. "My name is Reed Richards. I'm the current Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the President of the Illuminati."
Alex paused. Of course, he knew who Reed Richards was. Mr. Fantastic. The leader of the Fantastic Four.
But what the hell was going on at S.H.I.E.L.D.? Since when did Nick Fury appoint Mr. Fantastic as Deputy Director? And now there was an Illuminati?
In Alex's experience, Nick Fury—aka the Black Egg—wasn't the type to casually hand over power, especially not to a superhero.
Something was off.
So Alex asked carefully, "Wasn't your superhero team called the Avengers? Since when did you guys switch to 'the Illuminati'? You're saying Director Nick Fury allowed this?"
Reed responded as if he'd been expecting the question. "Thanks to your… involvement, the Avengers were officially disbanded after the last war. Director Fury unfortunately perished in that incident. Our current director is Alexander Pierce. He recognized my abilities and appointed me as his deputy."
Alex's brows knit even tighter.
Fury was dead? And Pierce—the White Egg—was now Director?
That meant S.H.I.E.L.D. had undergone a massive transformation… and not necessarily a good one. It might not even be S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore.
Alex had never liked Fury's methods, but he also knew the man was a survivor. There was no way Nick Fury would die so easily. Unless the one who died was a Skrull impostor.
If Fury wasn't dead, then he was in hiding, preparing for something big. Maybe it was something connected to Hell's Kitchen. Or Hydra.
Then again, maybe Fury really had died. And if someone managed to take down Nick Fury, they had to be more cunning than even Fury himself.
Alex glanced at the phone, his mind on Reed Richards. Mr. Fantastic was supposed to be one of the smartest men in the universe. With Reed now holding such a high position, it was hard not to suspect that he—and possibly Hydra—had orchestrated Fury's downfall.
But Alex never had a high opinion of superhero intellect. These so-called geniuses often made the dumbest decisions imaginable.
Their actions bordered on the ridiculous.
Alex's silence seemed to embolden Reed, who mistook it for intimidation. He said, a little too smugly, "Mr. Ray, would you consider joining our Illuminati? With your strength and reputation, I could name you Vice President. Frankly, I'd prefer to make you our leader, but the other members might not agree. Not everyone is fond of working with someone from Hell's Kitchen."
Alex caught the veiled insult but didn't respond. He'd never met Reed in this universe, but he had crossed paths with the other three members of the Fantastic Four. And honestly, Reed hadn't impressed him. No Infinity Gauntlet, no cutting-edge tech—just a guy relying on brainpower.
Though, to be fair, Mr. Fantastic did have one thing going for him—his son.
Franklin Richards was practically the main character of a power fantasy novel. Not only absurdly powerful—probably capable of taking Odin in a fight—but also wielded godlike abilities: altering timelines, manipulating causality, time travel, creating parallel universes. The whole package.
Alex still couldn't figure out how such a broken character even existed.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Reed kept droning on about the Illuminati, trying to pitch it like a luxury membership club. Alex ignored him.
Finally, Reed's tone darkened. "Mr. Ray, I understand this Thor fellow is one of yours. He's been arrested for assaulting a federal officer. He's being transported to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters for interrogation."
"But accidents do happen on the road. And I'd hate for your friend to suffer an… unfortunate mishap. Wouldn't you?"
"So, I urge you to reconsider. Join the Illuminati."
Alex's expression went cold. "Are you threatening me?"
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🎇🎇 Check out new Fanfiction 🎇🎇
🎊 Naruto : Tsunade You're Really Drunk 🎊
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As the plot unfolds, it dives deep into the Spider-Verse, Avengers War and the Marvel Multiverse, weaving in epic elements from Endgame, God of Stories Loki, Kang the Conqueror, the Council of Kangs, the Council of Reeds, and even Franklin Richards.
Expect mind-bending twists with Deadpool breaking the fourth wall, going on a rampage that includes killing everyone... even the authors themselves.
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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