No one could have anticipated it. The shock caused by Doctor Strange's few words in the picture was far more intense than that of a Level 2 reality bender executed by James and his team.
Dr. Clef was savoring everyone's reactions. Yet, when he noticed James's calm face with little emotional fluctuation, he was slightly taken aback.
"Why? You seem to have a different opinion?" Clef asked, raising an eyebrow.
James shook his head. "I just think it's a little too unbelievable."
"Unbelievable?" Dr. Clef flashed his signature Cheshire cat grin, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"I swear, I love that word," Clef said with a dramatic tone, moving closer to James. "Given your outstanding abilities, maybe I can submit a request to transfer you to my team. How about that?"
As he spoke, his tone grew somewhat playful and vulgar. "There's a hot office lady in my team~"
Before James could respond, the unmistakable sound of verbal abuse echoed through Clef's headset.
"Clef, you're a b*****d!"
"Oh shit, I forgot to turn off my mic, sorry, Adams."
Clef quickly switched off the microphone, his earlier authoritative air deflating immediately. He found a quick excuse to leave, disappearing without saying much more.
Once Clef was gone, Jack, always eager to share knowledge, spoke up enthusiastically. "Clef actually invited you to join his team? That's Clef! The legendary doctor of the Foundation!"
"Oh?" James replied, intrigued but not overly excited.
The live broadcast room was abuzz with curiosity, and Jack, ever the eager one, filled them in. "Let me tell you something. Dr. Clef was once a top agent of the GOC, the Global Occult Coalition. For reasons unknown, he joined the Foundation later on."
James was somewhat surprised. "GOC people joining the Foundation?"
"Yeah, the GOC and the Foundation collaborate on a lot of projects. But that's not important right now," Jack waved dismissively. "What matters is, when Clef joined the Foundation, he didn't just become another researcher. He became a high-level one."
"He's not researching containment," Jack continued, leaning in slightly, his voice becoming serious. "He's in charge of terminating Keter-class objects."
"Execution? Keter?" James's voice echoed with disbelief.
As Jack explained further, the entire live broadcast room fell into stunned silence. Keter-level objects were some of the most dangerous and uncontainable anomalies known to the Foundation. One of them, SCP-682, was an immortal, evil lizard capable of evolving infinitely as long as it continued to feed. Another, SCP-1983, was a portal to a demonic realm, and even the involvement of evil gods didn't fully explain its danger.
"Can Keter-level containment be terminated?" James muttered under his breath.
"That's right," Jack confirmed. "And apparently, Dr. Clef is the one doing it. You can imagine the kinds of people he works with. The fact that he's tasked with such dangerous work says a lot about his skills and temperament."
The mention of Keter-class entities put things into perspective for everyone present. The very idea of someone specializing in their termination, let alone being able to execute such a task, made Dr. Clef a larger-than-life figure in the eyes of everyone.
At that moment, James fell silent, pondering this new information. Jack, sensing an opportunity to lighten the mood, commented with a smirk, "What do you think? Clef's team isn't so bad, huh? After all, it does come with a... hot office lady."
Before James could comment, Jack leaned in closer, his voice lowering with a playful tone. "And just between us, his assistant, Adams, is a real beauty. Ahem."
James gave Jack a sharp glance, his calm eyes locking with his. Jack, realizing that James wasn't the type for this kind of conversation, cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I'll leave that for later. After all, I only have one hand right now," James replied dryly, a touch of sarcasm in his tone.
Jack, attempting to recover from the awkwardness, remarked, "Tsk, you're too humble, boss. You gave him such a huge surprise this time with SCP-500. That's good enough, right?"
Jack's voice trailed off as the screen faded to black, signaling another transition.
Future Technology Building.
Little Spider-Man, now back in his suit, looked at James with renewed curiosity. "By the way, didn't you mention you had a guest?"
Before James could respond, the door to the room slowly creaked open, and the sound of footsteps echoed.
Da da da~
"Did I oversleep?" a crisp, feminine voice rang through the air.
Parker's eyes widened instantly as he looked at the figure entering the room.
The girl who stepped inside was about 1.65 meters tall, with a petite, well-proportioned frame. Her flaxen hair shimmered with an almost ethereal glow, as if dots of fluorescent light were dancing between the strands. Her skin was as pale as snow, and her eyes sparkled with the radiance of stars, giving her an otherworldly allure.
What caught Parker's attention the most, though, were the pair of delicate antlers on her forehead. They didn't detract from her beauty; instead, they added an almost sacred aura to her appearance. She looked almost divine.
"Could she be a mutant?" Parker thought, trying to make sense of her appearance.
The girl looked around the room, her expression sheepish and timid. "Sorry, I didn't know you had a guest."
James, giving the girl a warm but tired glance, replied, "Stay up late playing with your phone again?"
The girl winced at his words, a hint of guilt flickering across her face. She then looked up at him with a soft, almost apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, but electronics are really fascinating. You know, I couldn't use these things before."
She revealed her wrist, where a mysterious black bracelet was wrapped around it. "Thanks to my brother for giving me this bracelet, otherwise, I'd still be stuck with paper books."
Parker, confused, assumed the girl's parents must have been strict about electronics. "That's... odd," he muttered to himself.
James, however, simply reached over and ruffled the girl's hair. "This won't happen again, alright?"
The girl beamed at him, breaking into a genuine smile that could melt anyone's heart. Parker, still in awe of the girl's beauty, nodded awkwardly in greeting.
But little did he know, the girl was no mutant at all. She was an Euclid-class containment object known as SCP-166.
To clarify, she had long since lost her anomalous abilities. She had been neutralized, no longer presenting any danger to the world. But her past as an anomalous entity still lingered, and her true nature was far from what she appeared to be.
A Note:
SCP-166 originally had a backstory involving her being the daughter of the "goddess" and Dr. Clef, named Meri. However, for reasons unknown, the author later decided to modify this setting. In this version, her name was changed to Gaea, and her backstory was revised accordingly.
Please note that this book is based on the new settings for SCP-166, so any prior references to her former identity or backstory should be taken with a grain of salt.
With the introduction of Gaea, the previously enigmatic world of the Foundation continues to expand, raising more questions than answers. The presence of such a delicate yet mysterious girl in the Marvel world could undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences. But for now, it's clear that James, and possibly others around him, are only beginning to grasp the full extent of the strange and dangerous world they're entangled in.
___________________________________
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31