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Chapter 574: Spectrum, Infinity
"Red Skull really escaped back to Earth?"
Tony raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. Red Skull didn't have any superpowers, yet the guy actually fought his way back to Earth from Vormir.
He glanced at the information sent back from Earth, then casually tossed it aside. Earth had another big problem on its hands. Red Skull's capacity for stirring up trouble was considerable; anyone who underestimated him would suffer for it.
Tony remembered that in the original story, there was indeed a version where Red Skull returned for revenge. That Red Skull had directly seized Professor X's brain and went on a rampage across Earth, beating the Avengers and the Mutants into a miserable state.
Red Skull had even seized two suits of Adamantium Armor that Tony had called to his side for support. For a time, he had the Avengers and the others so beaten down they couldn't even lift their heads. It was only thanks to an explosive burst of power from Old Man Magneto, who managed to destroy the Adamantium Armor, that they turned the tide.
This time, however, Earth didn't have Professor X's head for Red Skull to use. Tony had moved the entire Mutant population away. The remaining potential Mutants were being systematically eliminated, and even newly awakened ones would be promptly discovered by A.R.G.U.S. and injected with a gene serum.
Many of Earth's high-ranking officials were already harboring some regret. Faced with one terrifying crisis after another, they suddenly realized it might have been better to have more Mutants around, but it was already too late.
Who would dare obstruct A.R.G.U.S. as it carried out Tony's will?
However, the Earth of today had the option of the Symbiote Army. Although its drawbacks were immense, it was ultimately a source of mass-producible mid-to-high-tier combat strength, even stronger than the super soldiers injected with serum. They must have felt much more at ease.
But...
"That Black Dragon is a ticking time bomb, no telling when it'll go off."
Tony stroked his chin, a cold smile on his face.
The God of the Symbiotes, even one who was severely wounded and in a deep slumber, was still a being on the cusp of Level Seven. He was not to be trifled with.
At his peak, the God of the Symbiotes had slain one of the Celestials with a single slash.
The Venom symbiote that Tony had stripped from Deadpool back in Gotham City was still in storage, tossed in the science academy to this day. No one on Cybertron needed something like Venom.
At least, they didn't need a symbiote tainted by Deadpool's dark personality.
After tossing the frozen Time Wraith to the science academy, Tony had been sitting on the Mobius Chair, lost in thought.
Megatron's towering figure walked in, his heavy body thudding dully against the floor with each step.
"You're here?"
Tony returned from his deep thoughts and looked at Megatron.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Ascension," Tony answered. "Everything is ready. I just need to wait a little longer. When the time is right, I will officially begin my ascension to Level Seven."
"Will extremely powerful enemies come to attack?" Megatron asked.
"Definitely. There will be terrifying enemies of unimaginable power... Of course, they might also be friends. It's hard to say," Tony said, rubbing his fingers together.
The Nirvana Universe was the location he had prepared for his ascension. He just hoped the situation wouldn't deteriorate to that point, or things would get troublesome.
With the Maximals and Predacons holding down the fort in the Nirvana Universe, Optimus Primal and Beast Wars Megatron would have everything prepared for him. They would be secretly collecting gene templates. Tony wasn't worried about the diversity of the templates; he was more concerned with the upper limits of the infected subjects' strength—the stronger, the better.
"Then I request to have the Infinity Stone fragments transplanted into me." Megatron's voice was sonorous and forceful, filled with resolve.
Of the six Infinity Stones, only the Soul Stone remained perfectly intact and in Tony's possession. The other five were just tiny remnants, barely holding onto the name of Infinity Stones, containing only a trace of a complete stone's power.
They were like embers left after a fire has burned out.
Whether those embers could be rekindled into a bonfire depended on the user.
Now, Megatron had made his preparations. He was going to transplant the Infinity Stone fragments into his body. It was a completely insane act.
"You will die," Tony stated calmly, looking at him.
"I have never feared death." Megatron bent down, kneeling on one knee, his proud head bowed low.
"Optimus Prime is plotting a prison break to rescue his mentor, Sinestro. I will personally capture Parallax at that time. The Yellow Lantern Ring is about to be born. You can use it to enhance your power; there's no need to take such a risk."
"The Yellow Light of Fear. Beings who spread great fear to others will gain the favor of the Yellow Lantern. I think it suits you very well."
Tony leaned back against the Mobius Chair, like a king seated upon a luxurious throne.
"The Emotional Spectrum is not the power I seek."
After a moment of silence, Megatron said in a low voice, "That kind of strength, reliant on emotions and a ring... it is not for me. I prefer a tangible power, one that I can grasp in my own hands."
Tony nodded slightly, falling into contemplation.
To be honest, the Infinity Stones had too many drawbacks. The later three unique stones were fine, but the first six regular stones were really just transitional items. That was why Tony had only ever treated those six Infinity Stones as powerful tools, the kind that expire after use.
Compared to the regular Infinity Stones, the omnipresent Emotional Spectrum was far more universally practical.
Among the twelve mainstream Lantern Rings—Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, White, Phantom, Ultraviolet, and the Origin—there was bound to be a suitable one. If not, there were also variant rings derived from the mainstream ones, like the Supreme Green Lantern Ring, the Power Ring, or the Dawn Abyssal Lantern.
But Megatron looked down on the Emotional Spectrum, considering it unreliable.
He favored the Infinity Stones, wanting to perfectly devour their power. This approach was equivalent to turning Megatron himself into an Infinity Gauntlet, swallowing one stone after another to absorb the powerful energy systems they contained. The stones themselves, which merely acted as keys and valves, were of little importance.
It was an insane idea, a very Megatron idea.
It was also an idea where feasibility and danger coexisted.
"If you insist, I will allow it."
Tony held out his hand, and a small portal opened. The golden Infinity Gauntlet appeared steadily in his grasp.
This wasn't the gauntlet he had taken from Thanos, but the one Tony had broken during the fight against Trigon. The fragments of the Infinity Stones were still embedded in it.
Tony handed the entire thing over to Megatron, instructing, "Start with the Power Stone fragments. The Power Stone is more compatible with your willpower... A single stone fragment is enough for you to cross the threshold and become a demigod. There's no need to rush."
"I understand your desire to compete with Optimus Prime, but that shouldn't be a reason for you to get yourself killed," Tony said faintly.
Megatron accepted the Infinity Gauntlet. He looked up, gave Tony a heavy nod, and then slowly retreated.
Watching Megatron's retreating back, Tony stroked his chin as a very interesting idea suddenly popped into his head.
"Optimus Prime, God of Spectrum, and Megatron, God of Infinity... Interesting..."
Thinking this, Tony couldn't help but chuckle.
That would be too difficult.
(end of chapter)
"Red Skull really escaped back to Earth?"
Tony raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. Red Skull didn't have any superpowers, yet the guy actually fought his way back to Earth from Vormir.
He glanced at the information sent back from Earth, then casually tossed it aside. Earth had another big problem on its hands. Red Skull's capacity for stirring up trouble was considerable; anyone who underestimated him would suffer for it.
Tony remembered that in the original story, there was indeed a version where Red Skull returned for revenge. That Red Skull had directly seized Professor X's brain and went on a rampage across Earth, beating the Avengers and the Mutants into a miserable state.
Red Skull had even seized two suits of Adamantium Armor that Tony had called to his side for support. For a time, he had the Avengers and the others so beaten down they couldn't even lift their heads. It was only thanks to an explosive burst of power from Old Man Magneto, who managed to destroy the Adamantium Armor, that they turned the tide.
This time, however, Earth didn't have Professor X's head for Red Skull to use. Tony had moved the entire Mutant population away. The remaining potential Mutants were being systematically eliminated, and even newly awakened ones would be promptly discovered by A.R.G.U.S. and injected with a gene serum.
Many of Earth's high-ranking officials were already harboring some regret. Faced with one terrifying crisis after another, they suddenly realized it might have been better to have more Mutants around, but it was already too late.
Who would dare obstruct A.R.G.U.S. as it carried out Tony's will?
However, the Earth of today had the option of the Symbiote Army. Although its drawbacks were immense, it was ultimately a source of mass-producible mid-to-high-tier combat strength, even stronger than the super soldiers injected with serum. They must have felt much more at ease.
But...
"That Black Dragon is a ticking time bomb, no telling when it'll go off."
Tony stroked his chin, a cold smile on his face.
The God of the Symbiotes, even one who was severely wounded and in a deep slumber, was still a being on the cusp of Level Seven. He was not to be trifled with.
At his peak, the God of the Symbiotes had slain one of the Celestials with a single slash.
The Venom symbiote that Tony had stripped from Deadpool back in Gotham City was still in storage, tossed in the science academy to this day. No one on Cybertron needed something like Venom.
At least, they didn't need a symbiote tainted by Deadpool's dark personality.
After tossing the frozen Time Wraith to the science academy, Tony had been sitting on the Mobius Chair, lost in thought.
Megatron's towering figure walked in, his heavy body thudding dully against the floor with each step.
"You're here?"
Tony returned from his deep thoughts and looked at Megatron.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Ascension," Tony answered. "Everything is ready. I just need to wait a little longer. When the time is right, I will officially begin my ascension to Level Seven."
"Will extremely powerful enemies come to attack?" Megatron asked.
"Definitely. There will be terrifying enemies of unimaginable power... Of course, they might also be friends. It's hard to say," Tony said, rubbing his fingers together.
The Nirvana Universe was the location he had prepared for his ascension. He just hoped the situation wouldn't deteriorate to that point, or things would get troublesome.
With the Maximals and Predacons holding down the fort in the Nirvana Universe, Optimus Primal and Beast Wars Megatron would have everything prepared for him. They would be secretly collecting gene templates. Tony wasn't worried about the diversity of the templates; he was more concerned with the upper limits of the infected subjects' strength—the stronger, the better.
"Then I request to have the Infinity Stone fragments transplanted into me." Megatron's voice was sonorous and forceful, filled with resolve.
Of the six Infinity Stones, only the Soul Stone remained perfectly intact and in Tony's possession. The other five were just tiny remnants, barely holding onto the name of Infinity Stones, containing only a trace of a complete stone's power.
They were like embers left after a fire has burned out.
Whether those embers could be rekindled into a bonfire depended on the user.
Now, Megatron had made his preparations. He was going to transplant the Infinity Stone fragments into his body. It was a completely insane act.
"You will die," Tony stated calmly, looking at him.
"I have never feared death." Megatron bent down, kneeling on one knee, his proud head bowed low.
"Optimus Prime is plotting a prison break to rescue his mentor, Sinestro. I will personally capture Parallax at that time. The Yellow Lantern Ring is about to be born. You can use it to enhance your power; there's no need to take such a risk."
"The Yellow Light of Fear. Beings who spread great fear to others will gain the favor of the Yellow Lantern. I think it suits you very well."
Tony leaned back against the Mobius Chair, like a king seated upon a luxurious throne.
"The Emotional Spectrum is not the power I seek."
After a moment of silence, Megatron said in a low voice, "That kind of strength, reliant on emotions and a ring... it is not for me. I prefer a tangible power, one that I can grasp in my own hands."
Tony nodded slightly, falling into contemplation.
To be honest, the Infinity Stones had too many drawbacks. The later three unique stones were fine, but the first six regular stones were really just transitional items. That was why Tony had only ever treated those six Infinity Stones as powerful tools, the kind that expire after use.
Compared to the regular Infinity Stones, the omnipresent Emotional Spectrum was far more universally practical.
Among the twelve mainstream Lantern Rings—Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, White, Phantom, Ultraviolet, and the Origin—there was bound to be a suitable one. If not, there were also variant rings derived from the mainstream ones, like the Supreme Green Lantern Ring, the Power Ring, or the Dawn Abyssal Lantern.
But Megatron looked down on the Emotional Spectrum, considering it unreliable.
He favored the Infinity Stones, wanting to perfectly devour their power. This approach was equivalent to turning Megatron himself into an Infinity Gauntlet, swallowing one stone after another to absorb the powerful energy systems they contained. The stones themselves, which merely acted as keys and valves, were of little importance.
It was an insane idea, a very Megatron idea.
It was also an idea where feasibility and danger coexisted.
"If you insist, I will allow it."
Tony held out his hand, and a small portal opened. The golden Infinity Gauntlet appeared steadily in his grasp.
This wasn't the gauntlet he had taken from Thanos, but the one Tony had broken during the fight against Trigon. The fragments of the Infinity Stones were still embedded in it.
Tony handed the entire thing over to Megatron, instructing, "Start with the Power Stone fragments. The Power Stone is more compatible with your willpower... A single stone fragment is enough for you to cross the threshold and become a demigod. There's no need to rush."
"I understand your desire to compete with Optimus Prime, but that shouldn't be a reason for you to get yourself killed," Tony said faintly.
Megatron accepted the Infinity Gauntlet. He looked up, gave Tony a heavy nod, and then slowly retreated.
Watching Megatron's retreating back, Tony stroked his chin as a very interesting idea suddenly popped into his head.
"Optimus Prime, God of Spectrum, and Megatron, God of Infinity... Interesting..."
Thinking this, Tony couldn't help but chuckle.
That would be too difficult.
(end of chapter)
