Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 136 - 135: Unlikely Alliances, a Cosmic Bargain, and the Eve of a New Genesis

The public debut of Elias Thorne's True Legionnaires in Washington D.C., however anonymously framed, sent shockwaves through every intelligence agency and seat of power on Earth. Newsreels, carefully edited and "leaked" by Anya Petrova's network, showed three golden-eyed, impossibly powerful beings single-handedly neutralizing Apocalypse's Horseman of War, a creature who had shrugged off tank shells and brought Captain America himself to his knees. The world was stunned, terrified, and morbidly fascinated. Who were these "Golden Guardians," as the press quickly dubbed them? Were they aliens? New American super-soldiers? Rogue Soviet experiments? The speculation was rampant, the fear palpable. This was precisely the effect Elias had desired.

His [Global Influence (Public Perception)] metric in the System spiked dramatically, though it was an influence born of awe and fear, not understanding or trust. The various governments, particularly the US and the Soviet Union, redoubled their efforts to identify and counter these new "superhuman peacekeepers," even as they publicly (and hypocritically) decried the destructive mutant menace posed by Apocalypse. S.H.I.E.L.D., under Peggy Carter and Nick Fury, launched a top-secret investigation into "Unidentified Metahuman Assets (UMA)," their prime suspects being "Mr. Blanchard's" shadowy organization and rogue elements from their own abandoned super-soldier programs. Captain America, recovering from his battle with War and now grappling with the existence of these "Golden Guardians" who had saved him yet answered to no known authority, found himself at a profound moral crossroads, his crusade against Hydra now complicated by this new, immensely powerful, and utterly enigmatic faction.

Elias Thorne, however, was already moving on to the next phase of his plan. With the Horseman of War captured (Volkov was now undergoing intensive "de-programming and System analysis" in a Blackwood cryo-cell, his Celestial-tech augmentations a treasure trove of data for Finch and O'Malley, potentially yielding another significant [Prime Essence Shard Fragment] once fully processed), Elias knew Apocalypse would retaliate, likely by unleashing his remaining Horsemen (Famine, Pestilence, and the terrifying Death) simultaneously on multiple global targets to sow maximum chaos.

The "Apocalypse Emergency Response Alliance" (AERA) between Thorne, Xavier, and Magneto, though fragile, was now Earth's only hope against such a coordinated onslaught. Elias convened another holographic summit.

"En Sabah Nur will not be deterred by the loss of one Herald," Elias stated, his image flanked by the stoic, golden forms of Legionnaire Primus Nox and Legionnaire Sextus Elena Scythe. "He will escalate. He will seek to break our will with widespread, indiscriminate destruction. We must coordinate our remaining assets to intercept his Heralds before they reach major population centers or critical global infrastructure."

Xavier, his face grim, relayed telepathic intelligence: Famine was reportedly heading towards the agricultural heartlands of Africa and Asia, Pestilence towards major European water reservoirs, and Death... Death was a phantom, his movements almost impossible to track, his targets seemingly random, sowing terror and despair.

Magneto, surprisingly, offered a pragmatic solution for Death. "This 'Death' you speak of... if he truly commands the energies of entropy and despair, he will be drawn to places of great suffering, of mass graves. Perhaps your Wolverine, Thorne, with his own unique connection to such energies, and my Brotherhood's... more direct methods... can lure him into a prepared killzone. It is a distasteful task, but one suited to our... talents."

It was a chilling proposition, but Elias recognized its brutal logic. Logan and Miller, supported by Magneto's most powerful mutants (like the pyrokinetic Pyro and the super-strong Blob, both now wary allies of convenience), would become a specialized "Death Hunting" party.

The X-Men, with Jean Grey's burgeoning Phoenix Force and Storm's elemental mastery, would attempt to intercept and neutralize Famine and Pestilence, a task of immense difficulty given the insidious nature of their powers.

Elias's Adamantium Guard True Legionnaires would act as a global rapid-response force, reinforcing the X-Men or Magneto's team as needed, and protecting critical targets Apocalypse himself might personally attack. Marcus Nox and Lexicon Vex, with their Klyntar symbiotes and cosmic senses, would be Elias's primary "Apocalypse trackers," attempting to pinpoint En Sabah Nur's hidden command center or predict his next major move.

But Elias knew this was still primarily a defensive posture. To truly defeat Apocalypse, they needed a weapon of overwhelming power, something that could shatter his Celestial armor and disrupt his ancient, reality-warping energies. He had [4.8 Prime Essence Shards] (the capture of Volkov had indeed yielded [+0.8 Shards]). He was agonizingly close to the 5.0 threshold again. He needed one more push.

His thoughts turned to Warlord Kryll and the Skrulls. Their "probationary alliance" was still active, if deeply untrustworthy. Kryll was undoubtedly monitoring Earth's desperate struggle against Apocalypse with keen, opportunistic interest.

Elias, through the Nightfall II's long-range Skrull comm channel, contacted Kryll. He didn't ask for direct military aid against Apocalypse – he knew the Skrulls wouldn't risk their fleet against such an unknown, powerful entity unless directly threatened themselves. Instead, he offered a bargain, a cosmic quid pro quo.

"Warlord Kryll," Elias's mental voice, relayed by Nox, was calm and direct. "Terra faces an existential threat from an ancient mutant demigod, Apocalypse. He wields Celestial technology and seeks global annihilation. His defeat will require... unique resources. Your Empire possesses knowledge of Celestial artifacts, of energies that can counter such beings. Provide us with specific, actionable intelligence on Apocalypse's known weaknesses, any historical encounters your people have had with similar entities, or, ideally, a fragment of 'Null-Stone' or 'Celestial Dampening Ore' – materials your archives speak of that can disrupt such ancient power sources. In return, when Apocalypse is defeated, the 'Thorne Ascendancy' will share... select pieces of his salvaged Celestial technology with your strategos. A fair exchange, for a universe that benefits us both if Earth survives."

It was a brazen gambit, asking the Skrulls to essentially arm a "primitive" race against a cosmic threat. But Kryll, ever the pragmatist, saw the long-term implications. An Earth dominated by Apocalypse would be a far greater, more unpredictable threat to Skrull interests than an Earth subtly influenced by the "Thorne Ascendancy." And Celestial technology, even fragments, was a prize few Skrull Warlords could resist.

After a tense period of Skrull deliberation, Kryll responded. He wouldn't provide Null-Stone directly ("Too valuable, too dangerous in your unproven hands, Terran"). But he would transmit detailed Skrull archival data on historical encounters with "Celestial Arbiters" (beings similar to Apocalypse), their energy signatures, their typical technological vulnerabilities, and, critically, the precise location of a small, forgotten Kree outpost in a remote asteroid belt that had, centuries ago, successfully repelled a minor Celestial entity using a prototype "Resonance Nullifier Cannon." The cannon was likely long destroyed, Kryll admitted, but the outpost's data core, if salvageable, might contain its schematics, or at least the principles behind its function. The Kree themselves had abandoned the outpost, deeming the technology too unstable and dangerous. This was Kryll's price, and his test.

Elias accepted immediately. This was the final Shard, the final piece of the puzzle, he needed. The Kree outpost was a risk, but the potential reward was a weapon that could truly harm Apocalypse.

He dispatched Legionnaire Secundus David "Technopath" Thorne and Legionnaire Octavus "Forge" (his tech-savvy Legionnaires) aboard the Nightfall II, along with O'Malley, on a high-speed FTL run to the Kree outpost coordinates provided by Kryll. Their mission: secure the "Resonance Nullifier" data at all costs, avoiding Kree or other galactic patrols.

While they raced against time, the battle against Apocalypse's Heralds on Earth intensified. Jean Grey, her Phoenix Force flaring dangerously, managed to contain Famine in a psionic prison, but at great personal cost. Magneto and Logan's team, after a brutal, soul-crushing hunt, finally cornered and seemingly destroyed the Horseman Death in a cataclysmic explosion in the catacombs beneath Rome (though his true demise remained uncertain, and the battle yielded only a trace [+0.1 Shard Fragment – Necrotic/Shadow Energy] for Elias, bringing his total to [4.9/5.0]). Pestilence, however, proved terrifyingly elusive, her bio-toxins causing widespread panic and requiring the full, coordinated deployment of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America, and even Xavier's X-Men just to contain her outbreaks.

Then, David Technopath and Forge reported success from the Kree outpost. They had secured the Resonance Nullifier schematics and, critically, a small, heavily damaged but still functional Kree "Prime Power Conduit" that had powered the cannon. The conduit itself resonated with immense, unique energies.

[KREE "RESONANCE NULLIFIER" SCHEMATICS & PRIME POWER CONDUIT SECURED. Prime Essence Shard Acquired: +1.0 (from Kree Prime Power Conduit – Unique/Ancient Energy Signature). TOTAL SHARD RESERVE: 5.9/???]

Elias had done it. He had more than enough Shards. Now, the choice was stark. He could immediately genesis another True Legionnaire (or two at the cheaper replication cost), further bolstering his ranks. Or he could attempt the ultimate gamble: [APOTHEOSIS PROTOCOL – STAGE I: TRANSCENDENT HOST EVOLUTION]. Become a true System God, a being capable of meeting Apocalypse on his own cosmic terms.

The fate of Earth, the future of the superhuman age, hung on his decision. Apocalypse was still out there, his full power yet to be unleashed. The Kree were still a looming threat. The Skrulls were treacherous allies. His Legion was strong, but were they enough? Or did the world now need its hidden king to finally step out of the shadows and claim his terrible, magnificent, System-forged godhood? The price of ascension was potentially everything. But the price of failure was planetary annihilation. Elias Thorne, with the universe holding its breath, prepared to make his choice.