In a very secluded forest far from any town or city.

A man of about 30 years old meditated with his legs crossed.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes as his breathing quickened and his eyes shone with an intense green.

Slowly, he calmed his breathing, and the imminent transformation was suppressed.

Bruce sighed before standing up and grabbing the water bottle beside him. He had been trying to master his transformation for a year, clearly with little success. His greatest achievement was being able to initiate and suppress his transformation under calm circumstances.

In moments of greater tension, he wasn't sure if he could suppress the transformation. But Bruce felt content knowing that there was hope. Perhaps in the future, he wouldn't have to live in isolation out of fear of harming others.

Taking off his shirt, Bruce walked to the bathroom to wash up.

As he passed by the mirror, he was somewhat surprised to see that he was in quite good shape. His muscles were clearly visible, and though he didn't look like a bodybuilder, he appeared as someone who had been working out for a couple of years.

He couldn't help but smile faintly, thinking about how far he had come. Since he separated from Betty a year ago in New York, he had decided to stop running and fight to be with the woman he loved.

Looking at himself a bit embarrassed, Bruce wondered if Betty liked this type of physique. He had always been a skinny, nerdy guy, but looking at himself now, he seemed to have the body of a swimmer.

Suddenly, Bruce's palpitations quickened, and his eyes once again shone as if warning him.

Sprinting to the living room, Bruce slowly moved the blinds before looking at several soldiers surrounding his house.

With an annoyed expression, he quickly ran to his room before grabbing his bag and starting to transform.

He quickly took a giant leap, breaking through the roof before landing outside the ring of soldiers and jumping repeatedly, disappearing into the distance.

The leader of the soldiers couldn't help but sigh, as it was really difficult to capture the target alive since somehow he seemed to know when they were close.

"Sir, the target escaped again. Should we attempt to track him again?" the leader asked over his communicator.

"No... erase your traces and return," said the voice on the other end of the communicator.

In a luxurious mansion in Europe, a red-haired man set down his phone, wearing a thoughtful expression.

For the past few months, Bruce had been in Europe, and he had been tasked with tracking his trail and trying to capture him to unlock the mysteries of his blood.

Unfortunately, he had not been successful, and Bruce seemed to be heading towards Asia. He assumed he would delegate this matter to his colleague operating in that area, but he didn't really believe they would succeed.

Opting for the backup plan they had discussed, they figured they would have to work with Blonsky's blood, which was imperfect and posed a greater challenge as they would have to attack one of SHIELD's bases.

Not that it was too much for HYDRA. After all, besides the United States, the rest of SHIELD was entirely under HYDRA's control.

...

In Russia.

Draykov was in his office, watching a video sent by his ally.

The video showed the results of the Extremis experiments, and Draykov was satisfied with what he saw, even though many experiments had failed and ended in explosions.

Draykov wasn't worried about that. From the origins of the Red Room, the requirement for entry had been having great genetic potential.

Unlike Killian, who could only test with desperate, mutilated individuals.

All the Black Widows could probably go through the process without dying.

Just imagining his Widows with superpowers filled him with excitement.

He quickly walked to his balcony, where he only saw clouds. He sat down and enjoyed the view, feeling like a god above the clouds, in control of the world.

With Extremis, it would definitely become a reality.

More calmly, he took out his phone and called his ally, Aldrich Killian.

"Killian, I see the results are good. Send me some samples to start the transformation in some of my agents," Draykov said.

"Hm, I think it would be better if you sent them and I'll perform the procedure. After all, an expert doing it is better," Killian said, speaking amiably.

"That's not what we discussed. In that case, come and perform the procedure here," Draykov said with dissatisfaction in his voice.

"I'm afraid that's a bit complicated," Killian said, speaking as if it were genuinely a complication.

"What do you want in exchange for the samples?" Draykov asked, furrowing his brow and getting straight to the point.

"It would be quite helpful if you lent me some of your Widows. Most of my men are ex-soldiers, and I haven't quite tamed them yet," Killian said, laughing lightly.

Draykov stayed silent for a while, pretending to think. There was no way Killian could know that all the Widows were completely under his control. If Killian wanted to try something, he'd just be wasting his time.

"Fine, but only two," Draykov said, pretending to say it with difficulty.

"Alright, I'll send you several doses of Extremis. Remember, the likelihood of adapting to the dose is very low. I hope you won't blame me if they all end up dying," Killian said with the same amiable tone.

"That's fine," Draykov said, nodding.

"Then I'll see you at the usual place for the exchange," Killian said before hanging up.

Draykov chuckled to himself, feeling like everything had been going well for him lately.

At that moment, a Black Widow entered with a report.

Draykov sat back as his subordinate informed him of the constant clashes with HYDRA and Madripoor.

Draykov's brow immediately furrowed upon hearing the details.

As always, they were losing to Madripoor, who was cheating in his opinion. If they see the situation getting a little tough, they call in their super-soldiers and obliterate any opposition.

Sometimes they even coerced his subordinates into cooperating with HYDRA when facing Madripoor, but it was truly impossible.

That's why both organizations were desperate for more power. With Madripoor pressuring them, their activities were being disrupted.

"For now, in order to avoid any conflict and gather the best Widows for a procedure. Soon we'll give Madripoor a surprise," Draykov said, laughing to himself more for his own satisfaction, as the agent in front of him was little more than a puppet.

....

In a dark room, five holograms suddenly appeared.

"The plan to acquire Bruce's blood failed," said the holographic figure of a middle-aged red-haired man, the one in charge of the European region.

"You're showing your face; you need to go incognito," said one of the holographic figures, laughing a little.

"I think we'll have to stop hiding soon," shrugged the red-haired man.

"True, all my men in my area have completely cut contact and blended in with the people," said Pierce, who also stopped hiding.

"Speaking of which, I remember Ophelia almost reached the level to attend these meetings," said one of the holographic figures.

"Indeed, I recall her mission was to take control of Madripoor, and she did an excellent job," nodded the red-haired man.

"Anyway, let's discuss why we came," Pierce said, annoyed and avoiding talking about that woman.

"Yes, remember to keep an eye on Bruce. We can't rule out the possibility of obtaining his blood," said the red-haired man to one of the holographic figures in charge of the Asian zone.

"Sure," said the holographic figure, shrugging.

"You all have the coordinates and blueprints of the facility. Any ideas for the intrusion?" Pierce asked.

"Perhaps a distraction would be a good idea," said the red-haired man.

"It's not necessary; they're already expecting an attack," Pierce said, indifferently.

"After all, they already know I'm with HYDRA. The only reason I'm still in my position is because they have no evidence, and the council values my words more than Fury's," Pierce said.

"They haven't taken blood samples? You could take some," said one of the holographic figures.

"No, it's been delayed, that's why I say they're expecting an attack," Pierce said.

"That's problematic," said the red-haired man, furrowing his brow.

"We also have limited manpower due to the constant conflicts with Madripoor and the Red Room," said one of the holographic figures, frowning.

"I have an idea, but it's a bit flashy and may put us in the spotlight," said the red-haired man, furrowing his brow.

"Recently, one of the teams of scientists created a device capable of creating a tsunami. We could use it against their base before quickly entering and taking what we need."

"Actually, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Madripoor will likely target us since they're an island nation," Pierce said, nodding.

"It's not like we don't have conflicts with Madripoor. We must take the risk or we'll fall behind in the race for power," said one of the holographic figures.

"That's true," said the other holographic figure, nodding.

"Then it's settled. I'll send the device and prepare the men for the mission," said the red-haired man, glancing sideways at the fifth holographic figure, who rarely spoke.

...

"My lord, we've found something that might interest you," said a noseless gray alien, looking towards a floating throne.

A purple giant returned his gaze, raising his eyebrows in question.

"Loki, Odin's son, fell into our hands. Some soldiers found him unconscious in space," said the gray alien.

"Hmm," Thanos hummed, nodding as he thought about how he could use him to his advantage.

His grand plan to collect the gems couldn't start if he didn't know where they all were. Thanos was sure that as soon as he began collecting them, he would attract a lot of attention, and many would oppose his plans.

Perhaps this could be a good chess piece to quietly gather one stone, making his plans easier.

"Bring me the Mind Stone and take me to the prisoner," Thanos said with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, sir," said the gray alien, nodding before going to carry out his task.

Some time later.

Thanos held a scepter with a blade-like tip on one end. Between the blade and the scepter was a bright blue crystal that seemed to contain a gem inside.

"Loki, I've heard of you, a banished prince," Thanos said slowly, capturing Loki's attention.

"I think you don't know the difference between banishment and leaving by choice," Loki replied with his typical smile that seemed friendly but was mocking.

"Perhaps soon you won't know the difference either," Thanos said, smiling slightly before pointing the staff at Loki and firing a yellow beam directly at Loki's head, making him scream in pain.

The screams echoed for several minutes before Thanos stopped, and without saying a word, he left the place.

Loki began to breathe quickly as the aftereffects of the attack echoed in his throbbing head.

When he recovered and opened his eyes, he was surprised not to see anyone, so he just leaned against the wall and tried to rest.

Loki felt like he was in hell. Thanos would only come once every few days and wouldn't say anything; he would just point his staff at him before torturing him.

Many ideas were popping up in his head, resenting Thor and Odin for his situation.

If Thor hadn't stopped him, right now he would be a hero instead of a prisoner being tortured.

If Odin had shown him even a little recognition, he wouldn't have decided to jump into the void that brought him to this situation.

He, was a king by birthright.

Loki didn't know how much time had passed, but he heard Thanos' footsteps approaching again.

Although his pride wouldn't let him beg for mercy, his pupils did shrink in terror as he prepared for the new round of torture.

But to Loki's surprise, this time there was no torture, only Thanos gave him a slight smile before sitting in front of him on the other side of the cell.

"I have a deal for you. Go to Earth and bring me the Tesseract. In exchange, I'll give you Earth to rule," Thanos said directly.

"Deal," said Loki, giving him a smile that looked very miserable due to his torture.

"Then take this; make sure to bring me the Tesseract, or you know the consequences," Thanos said, tossing the scepter with the Mind Stone in front of Loki.

Loki took the scepter tremblingly, remembering all the bad moments he had experienced because of the small gem in the center.

"You'll depart for Earth soon," Thanos said, leaving and leaving the prison door open.

Loki looked at the scepter in his hand, and to his surprise, he felt incredibly good. He felt truly powerful; his magic seemed stronger than ever.

Loki's smile slowly turned wicked as the image of him ruling the Earth appeared in his mind.

----

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