Aboard a massive cargo ship that had been deliberately sunk at the bottom of the ocean floor, a highly concealed and technologically advanced camera simultaneously transmitted everything occurring within the sea to a distant screen in real-time.
The core members of the Shadow Council were all present for this important viewing.
Doctor Doom, the Mandarin, Elektra, and the Green Goblin were all present in the meeting. Besides them, two other individuals sat at the core members' long table for the first time.
Baron Mordo had returned from his mysterious disappearance!
And the leader of Advanced Idea Mechanics, M.O.D.O.K., a grotesque mutant with a head six times the size of his original size and arms and legs that remained of normal human proportions!
Advanced Idea Mechanics, also known as A.I.M., was a scientific terrorist organization dating back to World War II and had maintained a close collaboration with Hydra throughout its history. They were a key member of the global underground network and a leader in dangerous dark technology and weaponry.
The current leader, M.O.D.O.K., which stood for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, was originally a mediocre technician within A.I.M. who was selected for a radical human brain augmentation experiment. As a result of this experiment, his body underwent a horrific transformation, with his head and brain growing six times their original size, his torso degenerating and withering away, and his limbs remaining unchanged in size, resulting in his current severely deformed state that required a hover chair for mobility.
However, this grotesque form also granted him immense superhuman intelligence and powerful psychic abilities that made him incredibly dangerous. He then methodically killed all of A.I.M.'s senior executives and leadership, becoming its new supreme leader. He shifted the organization's direction away from A.I.M.'s previous approach of low-key research into advanced technology and began to frequently and boldly appear on the world stage with terrorist acts.
Meanwhile, the screen on the long table showed Sebastian and Carol talking underwater. Listening carefully to Sebastian's words to Carol, M.O.D.O.K. let out a shrill and unpleasant laugh, his fist-sized eyes glancing mockingly at Doctor Doom. He said in his distorted voice, "Doctor Doom, if you can somehow instigate this Dark wizard to join us, I believe it would be a devastating blow to both the Avengers and the Illuminati organizations."
Before M.O.D.O.K. could finish his mocking words, an invisible and crushing pressure descended upon him from multiple directions. Although the headband-like psychic amplifier device on his enlarged head activated immediately, focusing his considerable psychic power to resist the overwhelming pressure, it only barely prevented him from being completely pinned to the ground beneath the weight.
While M.O.D.O.K. was arrogant and conceited by nature, he was not completely foolish or suicidal.
Looking nervously at the sources of the oppressive pressure—Doctor Doom, the Mandarin, and Baron Mordo—M.O.D.O.K. forced a weak smile onto his face, then immediately transformed his demeanor into that of a fawning old dog seeking forgiveness. "That was just a joke, nothing more. Even if we invited him to join us, he would not join us willingly, would he?"
M.O.D.O.K. was necessary and valuable to the Shadow Council's plans. Unlike Attuma, he held a far greater importance and usefulness to their operations. So when M.O.D.O.K. had explained earlier that his ingenious plan required abandoning Attuma as a sacrifice, the group agreed after only a brief moment of deliberation and consideration.
Ever since Venom was captured by the Illuminati and his symbiotes were taken and separated from him, the Shadow Council leadership knew that instead of wasting their valuable time and resources protecting weaker and less useful members, they could simply utilize them as expendable pawns and find stronger, more useful members to replace them.
Attuma was the one who had been abandoned and sacrificed, and M.O.D.O.K. was the stronger, more useful member who joined the Shadow Council in his place!
As for whether they could guarantee they would not be the next members to be abandoned and sacrificed when convenient, everyone sitting here at this table already knew this possibility, and they were all incredibly confident in their own abilities to remain valuable.
The Mandarin looked at M.O.D.O.K. with an expressionless face, then turned his attention to Elektra and said, "If I remember correctly, you should have been dead and killed by the Defenders."
"It was just a little trick of resurrection magic. Besides, I was indeed dead before, but I just came back to life through certain means."
Seeing that Elektra had no intention of continuing to explain further, the Mandarin, though curious about the specific reason for her resurrection and the method used, did not immediately pursue the matter or press for details. He simply nodded his head and said nothing more about it.
Doctor Doom, noticing that everyone had quieted down and the tension had passed, spoke in his authoritative voice, "If this plan succeeds in splitting the Avengers apart and making the Illuminati independent of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., then let her join us as a full member. Such a special talent with precognitive abilities is what the Shadow Council desperately needs, and seven seats would be just the right number for our council."
Since the Mandarin had stepped aside from active leadership and Baron Mordo had disappeared and then returned, the Shadow Council now had Doctor Doom as its undisputed leader. As long as his decisions did not directly harm the personal interests of others, they did not particularly care whose coordination and orders they followed.
So when Doctor Doom finished discussing the potential seventh seat for Raina, they either remained silent or nodded in agreement; no one expressed any objection or disagreement.
Of course, M.O.D.O.K. did not dare to object. He was not like the other established members who had equal standing.
As for the minor issue of whether the candidate for the seventh seat was actually qualified for membership, they did not bother to worry about such details. If she was not qualified or useful, they could just recycle the waste and replace her with someone better. Such a trivial matter was easy enough to handle.
Seeing that no one disagreed with his proposal, Doctor Doom looked back at the projection screen and said, "Very well, since everyone agrees with this decision, let us watch the showdown between the Dark Wizard and Captain Marvel with great interest!"
Meanwhile, Sebastian, still underwater, was completely unaware that they were being secretly spied on and observed. If it were magical surveillance or even some kind of special supernatural ability being used, Sebastian would certainly be able to detect something amiss with his magical senses. However, this kind of high-tech surveillance equipment was far beyond Sebastian's current ability to detect with his magical awareness.
With Oscorp Industries and A.I.M. working together in collaboration, and with the Mandarin and Doctor Doom providing financial support and resources, the surveillance equipment they had deployed was simply not something Tony or Reed could easily detect, especially in such a deep-sea environment with numerous interference factors.
Carol stared at Sebastian with fury rising in her chest. She felt an overwhelming compulsion to take Attuma with her no matter what. Now that Sebastian and Tony had blocked her path and refused to cooperate, Carol's fury grew even more uncontrollable, and she finally attacked Sebastian directly without warning.
Buzz!
A concentrated blast of photon energy shot out from Carol's hand, aimed directly at Sebastian's position.
Seeing this incoming attack, Sebastian flicked his wand briefly in a defensive gesture, and two shimmering portals opened simultaneously in front of him and behind Carol's position. Carol's photon blast entered through the portal in front of Sebastian and simultaneously exited through the portal that had opened behind Carol, sending her flying forward from her own attack. She tumbled several times through the water violently, shattering a large and ancient coral reef in front of her into pieces.
With a casual flick of his wand, the magically bound Attuma flew backward through the water, falling into Namor's waiting grasp and custody.
At the same time, Sebastian raised his wand again in a commanding motion, and a large amount of water swept up around Carol, turning into a high-speed rotating undercurrent vortex, which directly swallowed Carol's body and pushed her forcefully out of the sea. She tumbled several times above the churning sea surface before stabilizing her body and floating in the air.
At this moment, Sebastian's body emerged gracefully from the water below. He stood on the surface of the ocean as if walking on flat ground, looking up at Carol, who was suspended in the sky covered with dark storm clouds and flashing thunder and lightning, looking down at him from above with glowing eyes.
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