Volume 6: Secret Invasion Chapter 36: Always betting on the winner is a great strategy, the problem is to tell who the real winner is!
When the Mason trio appeared on the streets of New York with a briefcase containing the Soul Stone, they were immediately spotted by a drone released by Brainiac.
These spherical drones with strong appearance are the "eyes" of the God of Wisdom. Not only can they capture any sudden situation, but they can also shoot out scorching lasers to cut everything when necessary.
When the three drones surrounded them and began to charge, Mason raised the mechanical briefcase in his hand and said to the drone in front of him that had lit up the laser generator:
"Lord Brainiac, we can talk. The Soul Gem is in the box. I have installed a self-destruct device for it. If we die here, the gem you have been thinking about will be shattered into slag here."
"Shua"
An optical projection hit the three of them. Brainiac, who was sitting on the mechanical throne, stared at them expressionlessly. The big green alien said:
"I don't think you have a device that can destroy the Infinity Stones. A similar Infinity Stone Crusher requires at least level 11 intelligence to make."
"Then you can take a gamble, pointy-eared greenskin."
Harley laughed brilliantly, swung the baseball bat, and said excitedly in her signature high-pitched voice:
"Mr. K told us everything. If you really don't care about all this, there's no need to hide this sneaky privateering operation from the Hope Council!
There's no need to risk being discovered and come here in person!
You can kill us, but guess how long it will take you to find another plane with a complete set of Infinity Stones and no one to bother you doing your bad deeds?"
"Really! We really don't have the means to destroy the Infinity Stones."
The scumbag on the other side of Mason blew out a smoke ring, winked at the drone image and said:
"Come on, Master Brainiac, shoot your lasers at us and kill us while you're at it. Don't forget what we do, we have plenty of weird stuff!"
The two guys mocked him in every possible way, but Mason maintained an expression of confidence, which made Brainiac a little cautious. The members of the Star Society traveled through the realms, and it was hard to guarantee whether these three daring people had the real stuff?
The Infinity Stones can be destroyed, and I hope the senior members of the Council are aware of this.
So the situation now entered a common "chicken game" stage. After a few seconds of confrontation, the drones surrounding Mason and the other two dispersed, and soon a beam of light shot down from the sky in front of the three people.
It's like an invitation.
"Step forward and into the teleportation beam."
Brainiac's voice came from the drone. He said:
"You and I come from the same system, we can really talk about this."
"Well, let me be honest, Mr. Director, you still think your privateering operation has not been discovered? Why do you think we are here?"
Mason pressed down the hat on his head and whispered to the drone beside him:
"Let me remind you, Director Brainiac, that my nickname is 'Old K', and one of your colleagues who recently stepped down as chairman asked us to send you his regards.
We are his messengers, come to discuss some matters with you and help you accomplish the great cause you most desire at this time.
Considering that our 'strange death' in a few seconds will be regarded as a provocation to another force, I suggest that you conduct one last test to see if this transmission beam is really 'safe'? "
Mason's "reminder" did not cause any special changes in the phantom projected by the drone, but the color of the transmission beam in front suddenly changed.
This made Zha Kang behind Mason laugh strangely, and Mason shook his head and said sarcastically:
"You are really cautious, Mr. Director. No wonder you have kept the fact that you sent super spies to multiple worlds secret until today."
He strode forward into the beam, with Harley and Zhakon following closely behind.
The next moment, the three of them appeared in the main control room of the Exile spacecraft. In front of them was Brainiac sitting on the mechanical throne. It was not until he actually stood in front of him that Mason realized that this guy was very burly. The 185cm tall Skrull Queen standing beside his throne looked like a stunted green bean sprout.
The perfect Ultron, who already possesses five gems, stands on the other side of the throne, fulfilling his mission and obligation as a tool.
"Old A sends his regards, Mr. Director."
Mason stepped forward and opened the mechanical box in front of Brainiac, and Brainiac's eyes narrowed when he saw the Soul Gem intact.
Ultron beside him walked forward with robotic steps, took the gem from the box and placed it in the last groove on his chest.
The next moment, the six gems gathered together to form a complete system, causing the silver robot to burst out with a powerful energy impact, pushing Mason and the other two away several steps.
The power from the origin of a plane of the universe continued to erupt from the perfect body of Ultron. The colorful light continued to overflow along its metal body and finally formed a layer of glazed halo.
The energy readings in his body continued to rise and finally successfully broke through a certain limit, causing Brainiac behind him to open his eyes wide.
That’s the feeling!
The life form of Perfect Ultron has entered a higher level. It can already carry its own huge consciousness and help itself build the ladder to the next stage.
All he had to do was start the consciousness conversion program and he could escape from this backward and weak body.
But Brainiac was in no rush to complete the ritual.
He waved his hand and ordered Perfect Ultron to enter the isolation cabin to prepare for consciousness downloading, and then suspended his mechanical throne, looking down at Mason and the other two in front of him. At this moment, the conqueror of the universe said in a gentle tone:
“I thank Mr. Nick Fury for helping me with my career. I have seen his sincerity, so can the missions you three are responsible for be revealed at this moment?
What does your master wish to discuss with me?"
"Old A wants to control the Star Club!"
Mason was not polite either. He looked up at Brainiac and said:
"You must do your best to help him accomplish this. The warlock master who is loyal to Mephisto is a threat to blocking Old A's actions, and that is also our next goal.
We know you worked with him.
We need to take advantage of this, and bring me your remaining Skrull minions, and Quint will put them to good use."
"It's a very reasonable request, and it's consistent with my opinion of 'Old A'. I knew he wouldn't be willing to be an honest arbitrator."
Brainiac did not doubt Mason's statement, because there was indeed a lot of evidence showing that Nick Fury in the Council of Hope was indeed very interested in the exploration organization Star Trek.
But this 12th level intelligent creature still had one last doubt. He stared at Mason and said:
"If you are really his messenger, then why did you slaughter my servants? You know that if you had revealed your identity at the beginning, there would be no conflict between us."
"Because besides being Old A's messenger, I have another identity."
Mason took out his Royal X-Knights medal, waved it in front of Brainiac, and said:
"I am a mutant from Utopia! My war against the Skrulls has no relevance to a higher order, it is merely the punishment your minions deserve for maliciously infiltrating Utopia!
This may offend you.
But this is how we rude mutants do things. If anyone dares to show his fangs and claws to us, we will chop off his claws!
There are still many issues about compensation to be discussed between you and the Supreme Professor, but that is not my place to get involved. I am just performing my duties as the 'Utopian Executioner'.
But look, Mr. Director.
I could have sent the heroes of this world to slaughter your pathetic minions, but a part of me remained to serve you.
This is my sincerity.”
"It's very reasonable and in line with Utopia's consistent code of conduct. I will personally go and apologize to the Supreme Professor for this regrettable mistake."
Brainiac nodded solemnly on his mechanical throne. He then glanced at the trembling Skrull Queen beside him and said to Mason:
"Now, they belong to you."
"No, Master!"
The Skrull Queen stared at Mason with hatred, and then pleaded with Brainiac:
"Please don't abandon us! Give us one more chance. We love you, we follow you, we have infiltrated and destroyed countless worlds for you. This should not be our end."
"Your mission with me is over. Now pledge your loyalty to your new master."
Brainiac replied coldly.
Then, a very special command module popped out from his mechanical throne. It was the size of a metal box and kept changing its shape in the air before finally stopping in front of Mason.
Mason reached out and grasped it, and the transformed metal quickly formed a mechanical bracelet around Mason's wrist.
The information tag pops up:
Skrull the Eternal / Claiborne Life Crystal
Quality: Divine crafting material
utility:
Claiborne is the last member of the "Eternal Skrull" and the supreme god worshipped by the current Skrull Empire. After a short but not fierce conflict, his life crystal was obtained by Brainiac and made into a spiritual consciousness beacon.
The user holding this beacon will have the power to guide the minds of all Skrulls.
This crystal can be added as a material into the crafting process, and the resulting product will inherit all of the item's powers.
hint!
The item's mind control over the Skrulls is not mandatory. When encountering a strong mental force collision, the control method will be temporarily ineffective. The Skrulls with strong wills can also rely on themselves to break free from the control of the Mind Beacon.
hint!
Brainiac somehow enhanced the Psychic Beacon, allowing him to perfect his control over the Skrulls, and the item currently lacks enhanced components.
Producer: Brainiac
Item Description: You know that the Skrulls can change into many different forms and their disguises are all bionic structures, right? And you already have a mind key that can control their entire race. I think I've seen this plot somewhere before? Anyway, remember to call me when you open YP.
“That’s obscene.”
Mason expressed great disgust at today's item description.
But this thing is really effective. When Mason raised his right hand towards the Skrull Queen Vikran, the latter's body shook and half-knelt on the ground.
She still retained hatred for Mason in her eyes, because this guy used virus weapons to cause her to lose half of her people in half an hour.
But the hatred at this time could not change the transfer of ownership. Unless Mason died in the next moment, this "genocide butcher" would become their new master.
"I must ask you to go and rest now, my guests."
Brainiac whispered:
"I still have some important things to deal with. Also, since Mr. A has reached an agreement with me, for the sake of confidentiality, this world..."
"We will stay and take care of the finishing touches, Mr. Director."
Mason lowered his head and said humbly:
"Please rest assured that the members of the Star Society are absolutely professional when it comes to destroying corpses and covering up traces."
"That's good."
Brainiac laughed, and the mechanical door on the left side of the main control room slid open quietly, indicating the idea of "seeing the guest off".
Mason and the other two left with the resentful Skrull Queen, and the mechanical throne under Brainiac began to slowly deform at this moment, and soon unfolded into a device like an operating table.
In the isolation cabin that popped up from below, Perfect Ultron had entered the shutdown sequence, like an empty shell waiting for consciousness to be infused.
"Well, the real journey will begin from now on!"
Even though Old Bull had been rational all his life, he couldn't help but get excited when what he longed for was about to come true.
He flicked his fingers downward, and the moment his eyes closed, the mechanical tentacles that were always connected to the back of his head and used to control the Exile ship and the Brainiac Legion automatically disconnected.
Then a new mechanical interface extended from under the throne and connected to Brainiac and Perfect Ultron at the same time.
As several red lights go out one by one, the consciousness transfer program starts!
Protected by a stasis field that was strong enough to withstand any attack, Brainiac seemed to be asleep.
Huge amounts of information data were transferred from his exhausted brain to the body of the perfect Ultron, but just after he entered this "deep sleep", the lights in the main control room of the Exile spacecraft suddenly lit up.
It flashed a few times like a mechanical failure, and then returned to calm again.
…
Mason and his crew, who had left the main control room, wanted to sneak into Brainiac's spaceship collection room to take a look, but just after turning two corners, they saw a decadent man in a yellow battle suit leaning against the wall of the mechanical cabin.
There were empty medicine bottles scattered around his feet, and in his hand he was holding a small bottle of strangely colored potion and putting it into his mouth.
His golden hair hung down messily, covering his cheeks. He looked so decadent, just like a Taoist who was high on drugs. When Mason saw this guy, his eyes suddenly changed.
He motioned to Harry and Zha Kang to leave, but after the three of them took a few steps back, the man who had drunk the potion suddenly turned around, revealing his eyes that were shining faintly between his messy hair.
He stared at Mason, crushed the medicine bottle in his hand, and said:
"He promised that if he crushed you to death, he would help me get rid of this damn addiction... This thing is torturing me to death."
"Sentinel, I thought you were Norman Osborn's loyal dog."
Mason saw that he could not escape, so he retorted:
"You were like a dog when you obeyed the Green Goblin, and now you've turned to Brainiac and become like a fool wagging his tail at a stranger.
People always need a reason to rebel.
But for you, maybe a bottle of medicine is enough to make you sell everything you cherish. Even if you get the power of a million stars, you still can't change your bad habit of eating shit..."
"That's a harsh comment, man, but I have to admit that you're pretty good at it."
A deep voice came from behind the three of them. Ares, the god of war, holding battle axes, and the White Queen appeared on the left and right, blocking the way of Mason and the other two. Above their heads, there were venomous scorpions climbing up with their fangs and claws bared.
"Brainiac didn't just make a deal with the Green Goblin, he made a deal with every one of us, Mason Cooper."
The young White Queen stretched her neck, letting her white cape sway behind her, and she said:
"Green Goblin always wants to have it all his own way, but unfortunately at this moment in time he doesn't have much to offer us.
But he said it well, be on the side of the winner! We think you can't turn the tables after you gave away the Soul Stone, and Brainiac just happened to offer a high bounty on your head.
The alien conquerors were unwilling to do it themselves, so they asked us to create an "indigenous riot" to make you, the "variable", disappear unexpectedly.
Sorry, baby.
You actually fit my aesthetic taste quite well."
“Always following the winner is an excellent strategy. Unfortunately, idiots always have a problem understanding the word ‘winner’. They have a very poor vision, everyone.
No wonder Doom doesn't like playing with you."
Mason sighed.
He pushed up the bridge of his glasses, and at the moment when the impatient venom scorpion pounced on Harley, he shouted:
"Bartmos, do it!"
"Bang"
A loud bang exploded in the center of the Exile spacecraft, followed by the screams of Brainiac, who had been in the upper hand since his appearance, from the main control room.
Mechanical tentacles suddenly popped out from the bulkhead and swept around, knocking the venom scorpion away. The bulkhead exploded and threw the sentinel that had just taken off into the sky, and Zha Kang's control magic also entangled Ares the next moment.
The White Queen only had time to transform her skin into diamond defense before she was hit on the head by a flying black shadow and fell to the ground.
She struggled.
But the mechanical tentacles extending from all sides entangled her limbs and pulled her up and fixed her in the air. In the chaos, Mason, wearing Lao Wan's helmet, walked towards the White Queen and picked up the forging hammer with lightning flashing from under her feet.
As the lights in the corridor flashed wildly, Mason raised his hand to hold the struggling White Queen's neck, raised the forging hammer in his other hand, and whispered:
"You look better twenty years later..."
"What on earth did you do?"
The White Queen in diamond form was horrified at the sudden change in the situation. Mason shrugged, raised the hammer in his hand, and said:
"you guess?"
"Bang"
