Sea Warrior vanished after the duel, and I turned around to face the guys who had been recording it.
"Alright, guys—since you're recording, I might as well fill you in on everything."
"Hey, man, what's your name?" one of the guys asked.
"Spectra Phantom," I said. "Let's treat this like an interview or something, since there are things that need explaining." I looked at them. "I need names, because I don't know you guys."
"John."
"Marcus."
"David."
"Alright, well, I'm going to explain what happened here because I'm absolutely certain you're all confused."
"Okay..." said John. "What the hell was that?!"
"A Duel Monster Spirit. I'm sure the owner of the 'Kame Game Shop' explained that—as he mentioned before, they can be friends, guardians, or even guardian angels. Unfortunately, something he didn't explain is that just as there are good people and bad people, there are also good spirits and bad ones. The bad ones are after things like souls or 'Duel Energy'—a type of energy duelists possess that is similar to life force. For these spirits, the way to obtain or avoid it is through duels; to them, duels are sacred rituals—part of their culture, religion, and so on. It sounds silly, but it's true. So, this is a message for all duelists: stay alert, because this isn't the first time I've faced one of these.
Some of them could also be considered ambassadors, and there are MANY of the same kind. So, if you see a 'Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness,' for example, it doesn't mean it's the exact same individual; each monster represents a SPECIES, so to speak." I explained everything in a somewhat serious tone, highlighting the importance of the situation.
The boys were a bit shocked by that, but after what happened it was obvious that everything I said was true.
After taking the kids home, I returned to my base and took out my journal.
Another spirit craving Duel energy, this makes about five of them to show up so far; I've been lucky that no one has been hurt by them. Plus, you can tell they're relatively weak, since their card pool is only slightly better than ours. Tournament qualifiers have just started, so I need to get ready—gathering that much Duel energy all at once would be like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bad guys, or a beacon for anyone looking for a partner.
Luckily, neither S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, nor the government realized this—and as I've laid out, they can't deny it; plus, I already control the information. I hope everything goes smoothly. As I see it, Cap is still on ice, Hulk could show up at any moment, and Thor remains far too arrogant. For now, I'm going to stay on guard.
Time passed normally, where one could not look to one side without seeing a duel. There were even rumors that it might be considered a sport—something I found absolutely hilarious.
Meanwhile, at a United States base, General Marcus R. Whitaker watched with a serious expression as he examined the new weaponry developed by Dr. Gero; each time he reviewed the data, he couldn't help but be even more astonished.
"This is even better than when we had Stark" commented one of the Sargents with him looking at the test.
"This looks like those science fiction movies" commented another one after seeing a literal blaster destroying the target.
These and other similar remarks could be heard as the testing continued—not just of the weapons, but also of the equipment and vehicles. Marcus doesn't know much about technology, but he knows it's only a matter of time before ALL of the United States' weaponry, vehicles, and equipment belong to Dr. Gero.
Curiously, however, no one in the military saw the danger in having their entire military infrastructure originate from a single individual.
This detail was noticed only by a few people—individuals not directly affiliated with the military, yet with connections inside—and they were far from pleased. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.
Alexander Pierce stared at the documents, his brow furrowed. His agents had managed to acquire the new weaponry through infiltration, but every time they attempted to disassemble or reverse-engineer the items, the weapons became useless—beyond any hope of repair.
"Son of a bitch... that Dr. Gero is far too cunning," he muttered, clearly annoyed. It was essentially impossible to make use of these weapons unless one purchased them directly from Dr. Gero himself; attempting to procure a large quantity of the hardware would draw far too much attention.
Realizing that studying these weapons was essential to increasing the odds of his plan's success, he knew he would have to handle the situation personally.
Pierce pressed a button on his desk, summoning another HYDRA agent.
"I want every piece of information you can find on Dr. Gero. And figure out a way to bring him into the fold—whether he likes it or not!"
Pierce struggled to keep his temper in check. Nick had been acting suspiciously, and the worst part was that there was no concrete proof—nothing to suggest that Nick had actually uncovered anything. He was completely in the dark, yet Nick remained far too valuable to simply get rid of.
What Pierce didn't know was that all of this was being observed by a fly—a robotic fly that was transmitting signals directly to Dr. Gero's laboratory.
Dr. Gero watched the screen with a mocking smirk.
"Myuu, I think we'll have some quality materials on our hands before long."
Myuu simply laughed at this. "Lord Gabriel wanted to wait until he could acquire the Mind Stone to manipulate all those HYDRA agents; would you like to try testing a way to do it without that gem?"
Gero flashed a sinister grin. "You're right—I'm sure Lord Gabriel will be delighted."
Both mad scientists let out a diabolical laugh at the thought.
And they didn't have to wait long, as Gero needed to make multiple trips for product demonstrations and testing—a policy essentially in place to guarantee quality; his physical presence served as proof that he wasn't running a scam, as any such attempt would have dire consequences.
After the final scheduled trip of the day, Gero was in a vehicle driven by Android 2—a simple robot designed for butler-like duties, equipped with basic combat capabilities. Of course, this security was largely for show; Gero himself was far more powerful than anyone else on the planet, with the sole exceptions of the Ancient One and his own boss.
Before long, his sensors picked up signals behind him. First, he detected that traditional communication methods had been disrupted by third parties; second, multiple vehicles began to surround him.
Gero couldn't help but smile at that, not even a week has passed since he learned they were coming for him, and they've wasted no time in attacking.
"How impatient—now I'm even more curious to see how their brains work."
It didn't take long for things to get underway. Gero had made sure that every detail of the vehicles—while kept basic—was sufficient to ensure no one could link them back to S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA. Two cars began ramming into Gero's vehicle, attempting to force it off the road so they could seize it.
"Alright, well, not quite—oh, look, that's one of my own weapons," Gero remarked, his tone entirely unconcerned as his car was struck by blasts from a high-powered energy weapon. "Do they honestly think I didn't reinforce my vehicle? Are they stupid?"
The barrage continued for a while, eventually beginning to damage the car. "Okay, so even my reinforced vehicles can sustain damage after a certain point—good to know for future upgrades," the scientist muttered to himself, remaining completely unfazed by the situation.
A metal arm shattered the specially reinforced glass, catching Gero slightly off guard. "Well, well—that must be the strength of a super-soldier. Myuu is going to love this data."
Gero glanced at the attacker, but a mask obscured his face, making identification impossible—though the metal arm spoke volumes. "Well, Mr. Barnes, I must admit—HYDRA did a decent job with you," Gero remarked, entirely unconcerned that he was standing face-to-face with one of HYDRA's finest weapons.
The Winter Soldier said nothing; he simply reached out to grab Gero. But Gero caught him by the wrist and squeezed, crushing it.
"AHHH!" the Winter Soldier cried out in agony—his hand was effectively rendered useless. Gero then turned his gaze toward the driver of the vehicle from which the Winter Soldier had emerged, firing lasers from his eyes that killed the man and sent the vehicle careening off course.
In a swift motion, Android 2 deployed a taser from his hand, plunging it into the Winter Soldier's back with enough voltage to knock a super-soldier unconscious.
"Right—time to take out the trash," Gero said. He rolled down the window on the opposite side of the car, reached out, and unleashed a ki blast that obliterated the vehicle alongside them. Looking ahead, he calculated the perfect angle to avoid damaging his own car, then fired lasers from his eyes to destroy the vehicle in front. Finally, he pressed a button, releasing small explosives from the rear of his vehicle to finish off the last remaining car.
"Alright, Android 2—let's go," Gero said, his tone entirely casual—as if he hadn't just killed a large number of people and left a trail of total destruction in his wake. A faint light flickered in Gero's eyes, effectively wiping away every trace of their digital footprint.
"Myuu, do you copy?" Gero asked, while collecting a sample of the Winter Soldier's blood.
"I copy. Is something up?" Myuu asked, sounding curious.
"I'm sending you some rather interesting data."
Gero remained silent, waiting for Myuu to process the information.
"Fascinating," Gero heard Myuu say. "I hope you have some actual material to work with."
"I have Mr. Barnes here—he's unconscious. I've taken a blood sample and am currently analyzing it; I'm sharing the data with you now."
"Got it... hmm. Well, the variations in this serum are quite good; we can use this to perfect our own," Myuu remarked, reviewing the data on his end. "And that robotic arm... what's your take on it? Is the quality any good, or...?"
"6 out of 10. It's titanium—decent, but not particularly useful for our purposes."
"What a shame. I was thinking of letting him keep that arm to test something, but I suppose I'll just give him a standard one instead."
Gero let out a huff at this: "I'll be at the base in about 30 minutes."
"Got it. I'll get everything ready. I'd also like to know how they manage to control him."
"Probably just standard brainwashing; we can ask Lord Gabriel to examine his brain."
Who would have thought that a piece for future plans would appear like a gift? HYDRA lost a valuable weapon and now has to do whatever it takes to cover its tracks. Meanwhile, I just laugh—especially after hearing the whole story.
Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm losing ideas and I don't wan to make a BIG timeskip to Hulk, then Thor and so own.