"We need to get out of here. It's the Avengers' responsibility to protect the people." After Nick Fury and his subordinates left the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Captain immediately expressed his opinion to Wong. The Avengers needed to act and fight Knull.
"The last thing you need to do is go out there. Knull wants to fight you," said Doctor Strange after setting up a barrier and opening a portal. Behind him were Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, or as S.H.I.E.L.D. called them by their codenames, Cloak and Dagger, who were training their powers in Manhattan, a location provided by S.H.I.E.L.D.
"We can't just sit here and wait for death, Strange."
"Alright, alright, I understand your noble intentions, Captain Rogers," Strange said, raising his hands to calm the Captain. "But you don't understand what kind of being Knull is. Even if the current Knull is just using his consciousness to fight you, you are absolutely no match for him."
"We already know we're dealing with a medieval vampire who can create symbiotes with a snap of his fingers. But we're also sure that guy dodged the Hulk's punch," Stark said, walking up to the Captain and looking at the mustached wizard. "I'm pretty sure we know enough about him. He's still afraid of your power."
Strange rolled his eyes at Stark helplessly.
"Leave your shallow 'science' aside, Stark. This isn't the time for you to show off. You have to admit that Knull is a being that transcends existing science. Any attempt to explain Knull's actions with current science is superficial."
"Oh yeah? Then how does your magic explain him?"
Strange decided to ignore him.
"Knull is a god, a real god. He is far older than Thor, whom you have met. He was born before the birth of the universe, and the darkness before that birth is Knull," Strange explained Knull's existence using the simplest concepts. "He is the Lord of the Void. His only purpose in this universe is to restore the entire universe to its state before birth. If he hadn't used his consciousness to manipulate his creations to conquer the four corners of the universe, he wouldn't have accidentally been cut off from his body by Thor's divine power. We wouldn't even have the capital to fight him."
But this didn't explain the Captain's confusion. "What does that have to do with us not being able to fight Knull?"
"Your so-called symbiotes are the products of Knull's contact with life. They are the personification of Knull, living abyss. The living abyss that has lost Knull's control has its own consciousness because it has no master, and it will also be influenced by the host's consciousness. But if it's a living abyss created by Knull himself, they will only absolutely obey Knull, fully guiding the destructive desires within the host's body and overriding the host's original consciousness with a mind that obeys Knull."
Strange explained why the Avengers couldn't rush in: if the Avengers were infected by a symbiote created by Knull, they wouldn't be able to influence the symbiote with their own will, unlike with a normal symbiote infection. No matter how noble their character was, they would become Knull's puppets. And once the control exceeded 48 hours, they would also form a Codex. At that point, even if the symbiote on them was expelled and destroyed, Knull could create a large number of symbiotes with the host's superpowers at any time.
In short, unless you have the ability to ensure you won't be bonded with a symbiote, don't go against Knull. The Hulk has already become a victim, and the most powerful Avenger has suddenly become Knull's most powerful henchman. So, how many people who can't be infected by symbiotes can they find?
"What about our Spider-Man? He has Venom bonded to him, so he won't be possessed by that Lord of the Void's minions," Stark said, looking around. Strange explained, "Well, I performed a divination. Spider-Man is a necessary condition to defeat Knull, but before that, he needs to learn how to do so. He has to stay here for now."
"Johnny and Sue can. Normal symbiotes can't get close to fire, and Sue can generate a repulsion field," Reed first stuck his head in, but then quickly added after a half-second delay, "However, Sue can't come. I have to go back to the Baxter Building. I have some ideas on how to deal with the symbiote invasion, and Sue can ensure our lab is safe."
"Good, Johnny Storm is one," the Captain said, looking at the increasing number of super-powered individuals appearing around them. "Anyone else?"
"The X-Men's White Queen, Emma Frost. She's a telepath and can generate a repulsion field around her," Tony immediately thought of the X-Men, who hadn't been pulled into this crisis yet. There were two suitable candidates there. "The other one is Iceman. I'm not sure if he can protect himself, but considering the situation with that dragon, maybe? In any case, he's a potential candidate."
"The U.S. Avengers' Jack of Hearts and Lightning Bolt. They are pure energy beings. There's also Citizen V, who's a robot. And our Thunderbolts' Ghost. She can move in a quantum state, so the symbiotes can't touch her," Nick Fury said, walking back over. The Captain looked at Fury. "How are things?"
"Not great. The blood testing is slow. Each channel can only let twenty people pass per minute. The good news is that there are seventeen bridges in Manhattan, including the railroad bridge, so we can let out about three hundred people per minute," Fury said, pulling out a cigarette. But Strange's cloak slapped the cigarette out of his hand, so he had no choice but to continue. "The bad news is that the symbiote Riot, whom Spider-Man just took down, is now running amok and spreading symbiotes. There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of symbiote monsters in New York, and the number is still increasing."
Strange was a little curious about how Fury had broken through the cognitive barrier, but that wasn't the issue at hand. "I'll bring those people you mentioned in."
"What about you, Gandalf?" Tony looked at Strange. "With that all-powerful look of yours, you must not be afraid of those guys, right?"
"I have to maintain the barrier that prevents Knull and his dragon from rushing out. I also need to guide Spider-Man. But even so, Wong and I can each set up a temporary barrier for one of you. You can choose two people to go out."
A few minutes later, the Captain, along with a rescue team consisting of the White Queen, Iceman, the Human Torch, Jack of Hearts, Lightning Bolt, Citizen V, Hawkeye, and Ghost, set off. Their goal was to ensure that the infected people wouldn't harm the evacuating crowd and to ensure the personnel evacuation went smoothly.
Meanwhile, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Hank Pym went to the Baxter Building under the protection of the Invisible Woman, Sue, to try and solve the symbiote problem from a scientific perspective.
As for Strange, he needed to have a talk with Spider-Man.