~Yo! We've hit 200 Powerstones, here's your Bonus Chapter as promised!
~Next milestone: 300 Powerstones! Let's keep the momentum going!
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Wanda let out a cold snort when Nolan called her dumb.
Just as he was about to resume his meditation, his phone buzzed.
"Boss, the Hand wants to negotiate."
Nolan smiled. "Sure. If they want to talk, have them come to Oscorp tomorrow morning."
A few days ago, Alexei and Max had accompanied Norman to meet with Kingpin. The moment Kingpin saw them, he betrayed the Hand without hesitation.
Against the inhuman strength of Alexei and Max, even the Hand's trained ninjas were just average foot soldiers. Dozens of their operations in Hell's Kitchen had been crushed overnight.
Now, backed into a corner, they wanted to strike a deal.
Nolan ended the call and got up. Meditation could wait. It was time to test how much stronger he'd gotten. His last power output had measured 70 tons. Time to see how much progress he'd made.
Wanda, curious, followed him and slipped on her coat.
Inside the lab, Nolan stepped up to the reinforced alloy wall and drove his fist into it.
A burst of compressed air exploded outward, shaking the room. Wanda's hair whipped wildly in the gust.
'75t'
The number appeared on the screen. Nolan nodded with quiet satisfaction.
Not bad. A five-ton increase in just a few days.
Still, he needed a better meditation technique. He had access to manuals from the Iron Fist, the Sanctum, and the Hand.
The one from the Sanctum focused on unlocking human potential. The Hand's version, on the other hand, leaned more toward offensive power; most of their superhuman strength came from the Beast.
And that monster was once again being used as the demonic energy source.
The [Demon Bone] project was now operational, but its energy consumption made that power source scarce.
Until Nolan developed his own magic-based systems, the Beast would need to stay put.
Wanda, still watching the result on the screen, looked stunned.
75 tons?
That was nearing Hulk territory. Yet here he was, calm, refined… and annoyingly attractive.
She gave Nolan a look. He caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said with a smirk, straightening her posture.
"If it's nothing, go back to your meditation," Nolan said, unamused.
"It's almost sunset. Aren't you gonna eat?"
"I'll grab something at Oscorp later."
Wanda's eyes lit up. "Why don't we go out? There's this amazing restaurant I found—"
"No. Use that time to refine your meditation. Also, your emotional volatility needs work; lay off the greasy junk food."
"Boring research robot," Wanda muttered, rolling her eyes as she walked off. "Fine. I'll go alone."
Nolan just shook his head as she left.
He turned and walked into the back chamber of the lab toward the containment cells.
Inside were a man and a woman.
Scott Lang slumped against the wall, looking more annoyed than afraid. Who knew when Hope would realize he was missing?
Then again, maybe she shouldn't. That way, her disappointment wouldn't grow. He could write this off as just another… jail sentence.
It wasn't his first.
Better to wait for the team to bail him out.
"You holding up?" Nolan asked with a grin.
He hadn't touched the Pym Particle research for a while. Now that the [Steel Body] project was complete, he could finally dig back in. He had a theory that Pym Particles weren't just about size. They operated on a quantum-folding level.
Scott chuckled. "Could be worse. Although… maybe a bed would help."
"It's been days. Your Captain still hasn't come. Should I just put you down and be done with it? Technically, you trespassed. I'd be within my rights to eliminate you."
"Whoa, whoa, chill, Superman 2.0!" Scott dropped the jokes and spoke seriously. "Cap will come. He will get me out."
"Then call him."
Nolan nodded to a nearby assistant, who handed Scott a phone. Moments later, the call connected.
"Cap? Yeah, uh, the Super-Clone here's not exactly thrilled about me being his guest. You thinking of swinging by soon?"
"…Okay."
Scott grinned after the call. "He said he'll be here the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"Quick turnaround."
"He also wants to talk to you."
Nolan took the phone. On the other end, Steve Rogers' voice came through:
"Don't hurt Scott. I've retrieved the derivative of the Space Stone. It's yours."
"I'm not the hurting type," Nolan replied coolly.
A derivative of the Space Stone… That had to be Fury's doing. The real Stone was with Asgard now. If Cap had it, Fury must've greenlit it ever since the Insight Project fiasco, he'd been pulling strings from the shadows, still controlling remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nolan had even considered capturing a Flerken just to study its internal pocket dimension.
Steve continued, "Nick also asked if you'd return the shield. In exchange, he's offering intel you might be interested in."
"What intel?"
If it was worth it, Nolan didn't mind. These days, the shield was more office decor than anything.
"He says it's data on the Inhumans. Thought you'd be curious since you're studying the X-Gene."
Inhumans?
Now that was a surprise.
Fury wasn't one to part with classified data easily. If he was willing to trade this, something was definitely going on behind the scenes.
Probably needed someone to clean up his mess.
"Not enough. Tell Nick I want samples, too, either Mystique's or Shaw's DNA. He definitely has one of them locked up somewhere."
That old manipulator wouldn't get off easy.
"I'll ask."
Steve hung up.
Nolan glanced at Scott. "You've got a good Captain. No way Fury agreed that easily, Rogers must've pushed hard."
"Damn right," Scott grinned. "Told ya."
Just then, Nolan's phone lit up.
"Nick agreed. He doesn't have Shaw, but Mystique's sample is available."
"Deal."
Nolan replied with a simple confirmation.
Mystique's DNA would do just fine… but he still wondered:
Who the hell is hiding Shaw's DNA?
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