Back in the Earth Cluster, just as Gwen and Alex left for the Sovereign, Susan and Alex landed on one of the Earths, in the middle of a destitute forest that had been razed to the ground, with mechanical parts all around.
"This looks like the aftermath of a pretty high-tech battlefield," she said. "And more…"
"This is Hydra Earth," Alex said. "That's what I dubbed it after understanding the situation here."
"Hydra?"
"Remnants of the Nazis after World War Two," Alex said. "Their goal is world domination. In this reality, Captain America, the first super soldier, had his history cosmically altered and became the leader of Hydra, taking over the world."
"What do you mean, cosmically altered?" Susan asked.
"There's an artifact called the Cosmic Cube that has the power to alter reality from the ground up. I have one of them."
"You just have one lying around?"
"It's not lying around, per se," he said. "I want to turn it into a controllable artifact. That requires a lot of R&D. The real deal is sentient and all, and really troublesome to utilize."
"Have you thought of befriending it?" Susan said. "Instead of, I don't know, killing it…"
"Doesn't work like that," he said. "I don't make friends with such entities. Either I absolutely control them, or at the very least, I destroy them. Can't take a risk and get myself written out of existence."
"How….pragmatic," Susan said. "So—" Before she could continue, the sound of plasma thrusters startled her as she jumped toward Alex. Moments later, an Iron Man suit landed right beside them.
"Greetings," a mechanical voice spoke.
"H-hi…" Susan smiled cautiously.
"You must be guests from another planet," the voice continued. "Would you mind following me?"
Susan glanced at Alex.
"Sure," he said. "I'm curious to see what became of the Underground's base after the decisive battle."
"Please, hold my arms," the robot spoke.
"No need," Alex said. "We can fly. Sue?"
"Do I have to?"
"It won't work if you don't try."
"Fine. Catch me if I fall," Susan said, immediately releasing her force fields under her and propelling herself up.
"Go on, we'll keep up. She's still a little rough with her flight," he said, gracefully taking to the air with a final crimson glow surrounding him. Unlike Susan's erratic movements in the air, his were perfectly stable, as if he were truly floating up without any external means.
"Understood," the suit nodded, taking to the air as Alex followed suit, catching up with Susan.
"Did you do something to it?" She immediately asked, despite her erratic movements in the air, constantly moving higher and lower, unable to stabilize herself completely.
"Of course," Alex nodded. "Gaia infiltrated this planet's internet just before we landed. The suit acted all docile because of her."
"Gaia sounds cool," she said. "I wish I could have my own personal assistant AI…"
"I'll get you one of the admin bracelets later," he said. "It has a direct interface to Gaia's main body within my subconscious. I could let you go directly through me, but I want to maintain a distinction."
Susan immediately halted, looking at him incredulously. "What?" Before falling down entirely.
"Of course…" Alex shook his head, immediately lowering himself and catching her in his arms. "What would you do without me?"
"Probably fall to my death," she said gleefully, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "What did you mean by within your subconscious?"
"It's complicated. I'll explain some other time. But it means what it means. Gaia's true body is my subconscious. You can even say that Gaia, while still being an AI, is an extension of my thoughts."
"I'm going to need details explaining how that is even possible," Susan said. "But I understand. I'll pick your brain later."
Soon, the two of them followed the robot to the bunker.
The entrance was still completely wrecked after being blown open by Captain America as he declared war against the Underground. The insides were just as dilapidated and ruined, with signs of an intense battle marring every surface. As they moved further inside, the presence of the Iron Legion became more prominent, with more and more suits making an appearance.
"Ask away, I know you're curious," Alex said.
"What are all these robots doing?" She asked. "And if you already guessed my curiosity, why did you have to make me ask?"
"Because it's fun," Alex said. "These guys are part of the Iron Legion. A set of cleanup robots whose purpose is to clean up the wrecks left behind by superheroes. Whether they be the Avengers, X-Men, or Inhumans, or even some other party."
"I'm guessing these are teams of superheroes?"
"The Avengers, yes. The X-Men are a specific subset of humans that have unlocked a specialized mutation gene. Termed the X-gene. They are also called mutants because, while at their base, they are humans, they possess supernatural powers. The Inhumans, on the other hand, are products of alien research from a long time ago. Conservatively, at least a few centuries, maybe even a millennium or two. They experimented on humans and gave them powers. These humans propagated all over the world, and a subset of the population has these powers in a latent form which can be activated through a special catalyst called the Terrigen."
"Thanks for the general knowledge lesson," Sue said, unsure why he was telling her so much.
"Keep these things in mind. We will be rounding up both the X-Men and the Inhumans in this quest of ours. Once we subdue the prominent remnants of the Underground."
"Another superhero organization?" She asked.
"A resistance group that banded together to rebel against Hydra's rule," he said.
By now, the robot stopped in front of a door, prompting Alex to stop as well.
"Any plans to let me down?" Susan asked, realizing they were about to have company. "Much as I enjoy this… We have other things to consider."
"True," he nodded, putting her down on the ground just as the metal door slid open.
"Hm?" Inside, Ben was the first to be startled by the sudden opening of the door and quickly stood up. Reed and Susan weren't any different and were quickly alerted, turning away from the large monitoring console to the door. The three of them ignored the robot as Reed addressed Alex.
"Who are you?"
[Oh? You didn't even let them know we arrived?]
[I thought this would be a more fun introduction.]
[So the whole welcome visitors from another planet thing was just for me?]
[Naturally. Wanna take the lead? They are clearly focused on you.]
[What, no! You do it.]
[I'm right by you. Go on. Be friendly. Tell them gently that we are here to conquer their planet.]
Susan's eye twitched from frustration as she reluctantly stepped forward.
"Hi, there," she said awkwardly. "I'm Susan," glancing at her counterpart, she corrected herself, "from a different Earth."
"We gathered that much…" The slightly older Susan Storm spoke with a mix of motherly gentleness and caution. "What brings you here?"
Susan sighed, glancing at Alex one last time with a look that said, 'Do I have to?'
Not getting any response from him, she once again turned to her older counterpart.
"We'll be taking over this planet in a few days," she blurted out flatly.
A few seconds passed by without any response before the older Susan burst out with a chortle.
"You've got to be kidding me," she shook her head. "Go home, honey. This is no place to be joking about such things."
"She's not joking," Alex finally interjected. "My next visits will be to whatever remains of the Underground, the X-Men, and the Inhumans. This planet is now going to be managed by me."
"I didn't catch your name," the older Susan said, a hostile edge in her tone.
"There's no need for any hostilities. How much of your powers can you even use at this point?" Alex said. "You may refer to me as Apex."
That single word elicited a gasp from all three of the remnants of the Fantastic Four.
"It's you…" Reed spoke, a complicated look crossing his face.
"What, you abandoned your previous host because she wasn't good enough?" Susan asked with a hint of goading.
"I thought you'd be flattered that I chose to bond with a version of you. After all, the powers you possess, even you have barely tapped into them after so many years."
"Why did you come back?" Reed asked before things devolved further. "Didn't you kill Rogers and get the Infinity Stone? Why return?"
"To save your civilization, of course," Alex said. "And for the record, I did not get that Infinity Stone; someone else took it. I am yet to retrieve it."
"We will fight you," Reed said, measured yet coldly. "Whether we have our powers or not. We will not be subjugated without a fight."
"Admirable resolve," Orion nodded. "But there really is no need, you see. I'm neither threatening you nor giving you an offer. This is merely something that I'm informing you about so that you don't annoy me later. Gaia."
Alex's words immediately made every single screen in the room go dark for a second. Moments later, every screen showed a plain blue backdrop, with a horizontal black line passing by.
"I have already taken over this planet's systems, master," a pleasant voice spoke through the speakers as the black line stirred, moving in tandem with Gaia's voice.
"See?" Alex smiled. "My lovely AI has already taken over the internet. In a few hours, even isolated networks, like terminals for nuclear warheads, will be under her control," he said. "Rejoice, for I will single-handedly bring permanent peace to your planet. No more wars. No more bloodshed."
Reed and the older Susan shared a look for only a moment before Reed's arm stretched toward Alex, about to punch him.
***
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