"Symbiote?"
Upon returning home, Artoria saw the grand meal Morgan had prepared. It looked decent enough. She took a bite, half-believing, and found the taste acceptable. This made Artoria breathe a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't dark cuisine like Gaea's. Artoria felt much more at ease. This way, at least there wouldn't be any casualties in this family due to cooking. This meal could have passed uneventfully, but Galacta appeared before Artoria, holding a large lamb leg, and very seriously spoke about her discovery today. Unexpectedly, Galacta had actually found traces of a Symbiote. This news made Artoria frown. She didn't know much about Symbiotes; the most famous one should be the guy named 'Venom'.
After hearing Galacta's words, Artoria recalled information about Symbiotes in her mind. Artoria remembered that the first time a Symbiote appeared in her Remembrance should have been in a Spider-Woman movie, that alien life form that drastically changed Spider-Woman's personality, incredibly cool and full of violent colors. But what was most memorable was Venom's gaping maw full of fangs and his long tongue. When she watched that movie, she was still young and even fantasized about such a battle companion that could automatically cover her entire body appearing on her.
"This thing is not to be trifled with."
When she grew up and encountered movies about Symbiotes again, it was 'Venom'. This movie made Artoria realize many things about Symbiotes, at least that these things liked to eat people. Once they became ravenously hungry, they might bite off an enemy's brain and swallow it. Although they didn't eat the host, the host was at least connected to the Symbiote sensorily. They were truly dangerous pets.
"Saturday, hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers and retrieve all data related to Symbiotes. Also, check if S.H.I.E.L.D. has recently come into contact with any Symbiotes."
"Yes, Master."
Having received the news, Artoria instructed Saturday to implement the matter. Although she believed Galacta's words, Artoria needed to see physical evidence to confirm the degree of danger. Galacta knew about Symbiotes because she possessed many black technologies, and her intelligence was not inferior to Earth's geniuses. Sometimes she just didn't like to use her brain, but once she started applying her knowledge, few people on Earth could rival this girl. After all, she was a descendant of the Celestials, with a vast foundation of cosmic knowledge.
Although she asked Saturday to investigate Symbiotes, Artoria had no other intentions for these things. She really disliked another conscious being entering her body, even if it would enhance her strength. Otherwise, Kurama would have been in Artoria's belly long ago; how could he now be playing around on the island every day like a Husky?
"Regarding the Symbiote you mentioned, I might know something too."
Just after Artoria instructed Saturday, Morgan suddenly quietly said that sentence, making Artoria turn her head in surprise to look at Morgan. How could you know about this thing? This is an extraterrestrial creature. Have you been to space? I remember not many of you mages can travel the Universe, right? Among mages, there are only a few, and I don't think you're one of them, my dear Sister Morgan!
"I know what I'm talking about? It's not surprising that you misunderstand, as you might not have been born yet when this happened!"
Facing Artoria's questioning gaze, Morgan showed no annoyance and spoke very gently. She then began to recount events from decades ago. Although there was no news now, it had a very negative impact on the mystic side at the time. Only a few high-ranking individuals knew about Symbiotes now. Morgan knew about it simply by chance. When Symbiotes invaded Earth, they were very arrogant. The first to fight them were the scientific factions. Although they fought vibrantly, it was clear to anyone that the scientific factions couldn't harm them. Just as the mystic side was preparing to intervene and suppress them, for some unknown reason, the Symbiotes suddenly seemed to lose connection, crashed into an iceberg, fainted, and were frozen.
Morgan was fortunate enough to witness the end, but she could sense that the Symbiotes were not Dead, but had fallen into a deep sleep for an unknown reason. The matter eventually faded away, and now that Artoria mentioned the name of this creature, Morgan remembered what it was.
"Do we need to inform Gaea?"
After hearing Morgan's account, Galacta asked Artoria about it. Such a creature appearing on Earth was not a good thing. It was said that hosts bonded with a Symbiote would fall into a frenzied state of slaughter, and none could escape this fate. Wherever a Symbiote went, it would frantically parasitize hosts, then summon all other wandering Symbiotes to that Planet, and subsequently begin to reproduce. After dominating that world, they would shift their targets to the next Planet. Galacta learned this from her father's data.
"We don't need to let Gaea know about this for now."
After a moment of silence, Artoria told Galacta that while these guys were brutal, they weren't Planet parasites and didn't intend to destroy the Planet; they merely preyed to survive naturally. Therefore, calling Gaea back would be useless. It would be better to wait until she confirmed the number of Symbiotes and see if she could control them. Keeping them on Earth might even have some benefits, as without a guide, this group of Symbiotes wouldn't find their way back to Earth.
"The Marvel Universe is too complex. If we're not careful, it could become dominated by another Universe. It's better to be cautious."
After speaking with Galacta, Artoria muttered internally. The reason she had kept a low profile all these years was precisely out of fear of irreversible events, just like the Zombie Universe. Every parallel world could potentially turn into the Zombie Universe because the person named Reed exists in every Universe. With a little guidance, the Zombie Virus might truly appear, and the world would face destruction.
"I hope it doesn't turn into a Symbiote world."
Thinking this, Artoria finished her meal. Suddenly, Artoria remembered that Venom's first host seemed to be Deadpool! How could she forget that? Seriously, if Galacta had told her earlier, she could have seized the opportunity to ask Deadpool if he had found any Symbiotes. Now, Artoria was awkwardly wavering between calling and not calling. If she called, given Deadpool's scoundrel personality, he would definitely infuriate Artoria. If she didn't call, she might miss the chance for foresight. This left Artoria very conflicted.
"Forget it, I'll wait two days! I can't apologize right after arguing with him!"
After much thought, Artoria still couldn't swallow her pride. She took out her game console and started playing games with Galacta. Since the intelligence hadn't been thoroughly investigated yet, she couldn't act rashly. Artoria could only play and wait. Although she disliked waiting, there was no other choice. However, what puzzled Artoria the most was that the Skrulls had only been captured a few days ago! Why did the Symbiotes arrive so quickly? This world was getting excessively chaotic.
"Nick, this is my good brother Bucky. Can you treat him? See how he lost his Remembrance and if you can help him recover it."
While Artoria was searching for Symbiotes, Captain now found Nick and brought a person before him. Good heavens, the moment Nick saw this guy, he nearly pulled out his pistol to shoot him, but he restrained himself. If he acted now, he would likely fall out with Captain. Even if Bucky executed his missions swiftly, S.H.I.E.L.D. could still find the Tail. Moreover, Hydra's previous activities had exposed Bucky's identity; this guy was a Hydra agent. But looking at Captain's expression and his request, Nick suddenly thought of a good idea.
"Don't worry! We will help him."
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