Chapter 222: The Illuminati's Current State, and a Hammer Falling from the Sky
"Welcome to the organization. The Illuminati." Reed Richards smiled at the new recruit standing across from him. "We're glad to have you, Agent Kadoya."
He studied the man — the particular way he carried himself, the magenta camera slung at his side. Reed had spent enough time around exceptional people to recognize the quality when he saw it, and this one had it in abundance.
Tsukasa hadn't come through Reed's own recruitment channels. Pierce had brought him in, which had initially made Reed suspicious — Pierce's additions to the organization tended to serve Pierce's purposes first and the Illuminati's second. But Reed had seen enough of what Tsukasa could do to understand why he'd been flagged as an asset. And the intelligence about his possible connection to the organization behind Ethan Cross — the X Consortium, whatever it actually was — that was the more interesting angle. If this worked out, the Illuminati might have a line into the power structure Reed had been trying to map for months.
He needed the wins right now. Honestly, he needed them badly.
Reed ran through the organization's current state with the detached precision of an engineer assessing structural damage, which was essentially what he was doing.
Steve Rogers had resigned. Fury's death had hit him hard — harder than Reed had expected from someone who'd survived a war — and losing an arm on top of it had apparently been the thing that broke whatever was holding him in place. He'd said something about Fury's death not adding up, filed his resignation, and disappeared into whatever quiet place people like Steve Rogers went when they were done. Reed couldn't afford to chase him.
Natasha and Clint were still technically in the organization but effectively unavailable. They had opinions about Pierce, opinions about the Illuminati, opinions they expressed through the pointed medium of doing the bare minimum required to avoid formal consequences. Reed had reassigned them downward rather than deal with the ongoing friction. They were, in the final analysis, ordinary humans — capable ones, but ordinary. He had bigger concerns.
The Fantastic Four, meanwhile, had ceased to function as a unit in any meaningful sense. Ben had defected to Hell's Kitchen, which still made Reed's jaw tighten when he thought about it. Susan had withdrawn — not formally, not with any declaration, but in the way people withdraw when trust has been damaged and they're deciding what to do about it. She hadn't left yet. Reed wasn't sure what she was waiting for.
That left Johnny. Young, impulsive, loyal in the uncomplicated way that young people were loyal before the complications caught up with them. Reed was not unaware that this was a thin foundation for an organization with the ambitions the Illuminati had. But it was what he had.
And Hell's Kitchen has Magneto. And Wanda. And Pietro. And Daredevil. And Tony Stark.
Reed pressed that thought down before it turned into something unproductive. The more useful question was what he was building now, not what he'd failed to acquire then.
In that category, at least, there were genuine developments.
He'd recruited from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy — a careful selection process, focused on capability over loyalty to existing power structures. Sam Wilson had come out of that process. The Falcon. Reed was not a man who thought much about aerial combat aesthetics, but he understood what Sam's skill set represented in practical terms, and he'd been quietly building the case for Sam's value ever since.
The Inhumans were a more complex acquisition — or rather, they weren't an acquisition at all, which was the source of Reed's frustration. Black Bolt had agreed to an alliance. An alliance was not the same as a subordinate relationship, and Reed found the distinction more irritating with each passing week.
He'd catalogued what they brought regardless. Medusa's hair as a combat instrument was more effective than it sounded — extending at will, hardening, precise enough for weapons work and strong enough for structural applications. Karnak saw structural weaknesses in everything, physical and strategic, which was genuinely useful. Gorgon's seismic impact. Triton's underwater capability. Crystal's elemental range — earth, water, fire, air, controlled simultaneously — which represented a breadth of application that most powers didn't.
Strong. Not under control. Reed was working on that.
Crossbones was still in the building, which meant Pierce was still in the building, which meant Reed was still navigating the specific irritation of operating within a power structure that hadn't yet decided whether he was an asset or a replacement in waiting. He understood the game. He was playing it carefully.
The Atlantis negotiations were ongoing. Namor was difficult in the way that people who ruled underwater kingdoms for centuries tended to be difficult — sovereign, contemptuous of surface-world power structures, willing to talk primarily because talking cost him nothing. Reed had made progress. Not enough.
Wakanda had been more of a wall. The king's position on S.H.I.E.L.D. was clear and had not moved. Reed had redirected to a secondary approach — T'Challa's successor, who apparently had different views about external engagement. That was the current thread. He was pulling it carefully.
He looked at Tsukasa again and felt the particular satisfaction of a man who has found a piece he thinks might complete something.
Whatever you are, Reed thought, you're not nothing. And right now I need something that isn't nothing.
Before he could continue the orientation, an agent came through the door at the kind of speed that meant the news was either very good or very bad. The expression suggested the latter.
"Mr. Richards." The agent stopped at a respectful distance and lowered his voice. "We have an urgent report. Something's happened in New Mexico." A pause. "A hammer. It fell from the sky. No warning, no observable origin point, no delivery mechanism. It simply — appeared."
Reed stared at him.
"A hammer."
"Yes, sir."
Reed said nothing for a moment.
Thor.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you