Marvel's Kryptonian Scientist Chapter 292 292

M.O.D.O.K. didn't escape.

There really wasn't much he could do about it.

A man with a head that gigantic couldn't exactly disguise himself and slip away unnoticed. None of the standard evacuation uniforms even fit him.

In most Marvel tilines, M.O.D.O.K. and Tony Stark were longti rivals. Their technological levels constantly hovered around the sa tier, and their battles usually ended with victories split evenly between them.

Unfortunately for M.O.D.O.K., this version of Tony Stark had access to sothing far more terrifying than advanced technology.

Friends.

A lot of extrely dangerous friends.

Ever since Drex stepped down from public office and shoved the title of "Superhero Oversight Director" onto Tony, Stark's popularity within the hero community had actually beco pretty decent.

Mostly because he restrained himself from talking too much.

With A.I.M.'s final headquarters captured, the anti-A.I.M. operation officially concluded.

The organization's facilities were seized completely.

Its scientists surrendered.

Its stockpiles of weapons and experintal technology were confiscated.

And M.O.D.O.K. himself was left with nothing but a prison sentence likely asured in decades.

Only Drex knew the situation wasn't truly over.

The Ten Rings still existed.

The Mandarin was still out there.

But honestly?

He'd already removed several major enemies from Tony's future problems. The rest could stay Tony's responsibility.

Besides, the symbiote armor had already evolved into sothing absurdly powerful.

Outside of monsters like the Anti-Celestial Armor, Infinity Stone Armor, or Excalibur Armor, Tony probably couldn't build anything significantly stronger anymore.

Even the Bleeding Edge armor from the Infinity War era would get crushed by the symbiote armor in a direct comparison.

Because the symbiote armor could grow endlessly as long as it received sufficient energy.

Under Drex's observation, Tony had already solved the scaling problem and created a version capable of expanding to nearly fifty ters in height.

After the battle, Tony returned to Umbrella Corporation headquarters.

"You already predicted the future military arms race would revolve around superhumans, didn't you?" he asked.

"That's why you resigned and developed Compound One."

The more Tony thought about it, the more convinced he beca.

Drex always looked further ahead than everyone else.

Orbital rail cannons.

Super battleships.

Every major technological shift had been anticipated by him years in advance.

And while the entire world obsessed over giant warships and chanized armies, Drex had quietly created Compound One.

Nobody fully understood what Compound One actually was yet.

But the existence of Umbrella's enhanced operatives already proved how revolutionary it had beco.

Drex rolled his eyes.

"Don't start spreading nonsense. My Zaku mobile suits are still selling extrely well."

Tony blinked.

"You're worried about your sales?"

"If people start thinking I don't believe in conventional weapons anymore, my business takes the first hit."

Drex wasn't joking.

Umbrella Corporation had already evolved into sothing far beyond the version from gas or movies, but Drex's interest in it remained relatively restrained.

He had no desire to create a literal Raccoon City disaster scenario just to match the brand aesthetic.

Although...

He was currently investing in constructing an entire city owned directly by Umbrella Corporation.

That kind of gaproject required either national-level infrastructure or absurd corporate wealth.

Umbrella now possessed both.

Tony leaned back slightly.

"Those Zakus really changed everything."

He wasn't wrong.

Compared to mobile suits, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines suddenly looked vulnerable and outdated.

The countries suffering most from the current military transition were ironically the strongest nations on Earth.

Thankfully, Drex had heavily restricted sales.

Smaller nations couldn't purchase Zakus no matter how much money they offered.

Major powers at least understood restraint.

Smaller countries?

Drex trusted them far less.

Give certain governnts giant humanoid war machines and sobody would inevitably try starting World War III for fun.

That night, Drex sat in his office with Tifa in his arms.

The atmosphere was getting increasingly dangerous for entirely non-combat-related reasons.

Then every light in the building suddenly died.

Not just the office.

The entire Umbrella headquarters.

If soone zood out far enough, they would've seen the sa thing happening across Los Angeles.

Then Arica.

Then the entire planet.

Global power systems failed simultaneously.

The television flickered to life inside the darkness.

Static filled the screen.

Not just there.

Every display device on Earth capable of receiving a signal suddenly activated at once.

A distorted voice erged through the noise.

"You are... not alone..."

The static stabilized gradually.

A figure in black Kryptonian armor appeared on the screen.

As he spoke again, the transmission beca crystal clear.

"I am General Zod."

The entire planet went silent.

"We co from the distant world of Krypton. We crossed the stars searching for one of our own."

"He is hiding among you."

"He looks human... but he is not."

"If you know his identity, Earth's fate rests in your hands."

Then the armored figure stared directly into the cara.

"Kal-El."

His voice beca cold.

"Surrender within one planetary rotation."

"Or this world will suffer the consequences."

The transmission ended instantly.

Power returned across the globe.

But the damage had already been done.

Who was Kal-El?

There was an alien hiding on Earth?

What the hell was Krypton?

Humanity collectively lost its mind.

Even the United States, which had sohow developed a terrifying habit of surviving alien invasions every few months, felt genuine panic this ti.

Tifa slowly stopped moving her hand from Drex's belt.

"...Zod?"

Drex looked just as confused as she did.

Because this absolutely was not his doing.

He imdiately lifted his gaze toward space.

A genuine Kryptonian ship floated in orbit.

Then his phone started exploding with incoming calls.

Even retired, Drex was still humanity's default ergency contact whenever aliens showed up.

Unfortunately for everyone else, he ignored every single call.

A mont later, he vanished.

Deep inside the Kryptonian ship, Drex appeared instantly through teleportation.

The familiar atmosphere of Kryptonian environntal systems washed over him.

Not that it mattered anymore.

At his current level, air composition was practically irrelevant.

General Zod imdiately turned toward him in alarm.

"Who are you?"

Every Kryptonian soldier in the chamber entered combat readiness instantly.

Drex frowned.

"You seriously don't recognize ? I'm Drex Valen."

Blank stares.

"Who?"

General Zod.

Faora.

Every Kryptonian present remained fully hostile.

That was when Drex realized sothing was deeply wrong.

Back on Krypton, he had intentionally built good relations with General Zod's faction specifically because he'd planned to recruit them later after arriving on Earth.

There was no way they shouldn't recognize him.

Unless...

These weren't his General Zod and Faora.

Back on Earth, nearly an entire night had passed since Zod's ultimatum began.

Faced with the threat of extraterrestrial annihilation, governnts worldwide imdiately folded and began desperately searching for any trace of a hidden Kryptonian.

Humanity didn't exactly have many alternatives.

The temporary blackout alone had already caused catastrophic global economic losses.

And that was before the invasion had even started.

If war actually broke out...

The cost would be unimaginable.