Let us return to this Stark-Roxxon war, which involved numerous factions placing their bets but featured no direct combat. First worth noting was that the sharp drop in electricity prices unexpectedly led to a lower cost of living, and it seemed that if the two sides continued their conflict, utility bills might plunge even further.
Furthermore, this war resulted in the bankruptcy of numerous power generation enterprises, forcing them to be acquired by the two corporate giants. This served as a classic textbook case of the number one and number two players fighting, only to end up obliterating the number three.
"From a certain perspective, this illustrates just how absurd electricity prices in America have been, and how much actual room there was for them to decrease."
Captain looked at the newspaper, shook his head helplessly, and voiced his opinion. Tony, however, viewed it completely differently: "The massive reduction in electricity costs relies entirely on the reduced production costs and enhanced efficiency of the Arc Reactor, Captain. Of course, the drop in prices on the opposing side is because they gained an abundance of high-quality, low-cost petroleum. Without these two factors, utility rates could never have come down. And considering Malekith is actually entirely untrustworthy—the reality is that technological advancement has improved our lives."
"Hydra's technology is also highly advanced, Tony. Technology itself does not guarantee it will help mankind."
Tony nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, yeah, which is why technology must be held by the right people. What a coincidence, I happen to be one of them."
Captain was somewhat past the point of wanting to debate Tony. Tony Stark was an unadulterated futurist, advocating for the design of technology a hundred years into the future starting right now, and he possessed a rather strong techno-utopian streak. Although he did not believe technological progress could solve every single problem, Tony truly believed it could resolve the vast majority of them.
The two had already argued multiple times, yet neither could convince the other. Consequently, Captain did not intend to prolong the dispute, just as Tony received a new message and raised an eyebrow quite excitedly: "Looks like the Ultimate Squad has taken the Wrecking Crew to the Cube, intending to give them some Gamma upgrades?"
Hearing this, Captain could not help but furrow his brow.
"Aren't Gamma experiments highly dangerous, with a very high probability of being fatal?"
"Yeah, but first we need to confirm whether they are actually running Gamma experiments. Banner and Pym have gone to investigate the matter, and there will be results shortly. At times like this, I always feel short-handed. Sometimes I even slightly miss the days when Ultron was around—at least we had a few extra pairs of hands."
Though he said that, Tony would certainly never wish for Ultron to truly return; it was much better for Ultron to stay dead, an entity loathed by none.
Captain shook his head while looking at the newspaper, finding the time to ask about someone else: "What about Spider-Man? What is that kid up to? Why haven't I seen him around?"
"Supposedly dealing with Belasco and Mephisto."
"Mephisto? The demon from Faust?"
Tony looked at Captain in considerable surprise. "I didn't know you actually read Faust."
To prepare for dealing with Belasco, Strange had brought the team to Kamar-Taj rather than the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. Within the grand hall, he unrolled a rough map of Limbo and began briefing them on the situation.
"Our plan is as follows: Magik will trigger her demonic form and lean toward actively losing control to see if we can draw out her dark side. This will allow us to confirm exactly who is funneling demons to Earth through Limbo. Following that, Illyana's sanity will not completely collapse; she will call out to me for assistance. At that moment, the Scarlet Witch and Ms. Bloodstone will accompany me to aid her."
Both Wanda and Elsa were bait prepared for Belasco. Belasco was a follower of Chthon, and Chthon had always yearned to control Chaos Magic. Concurrently, for Belasco to summon Chthon into Earth-616, he required five Bloodstones originating from Earth-616, and he had always been missing one. This time, he would have an opportunity to seize it.
At least, Strange would lead him to believe so.
"Then comes the second layer, the ambush on the surface. That will be handled by Ghost Rider and Wong. You two will be responsible for temporary containment and striking Belasco should he appear."
As Strange reached this point, Illyana proactively confessed, "Even though I became the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo, I'm sorry to say I have virtually no control over the dimension. I truly detest that place..."
Strange took over the conversation from Illyana: "Although most demons will not defy the Sorcerer Supreme, special circumstances must be considered. Within a dimension, there will naturally exist entities that are relatively powerful by that dimension's standards. Furthermore, the grip a dimensional demon lord holds over a dimension is different from that of a Sorcerer Supreme. A Sorcerer Supreme's control is weaker, particularly for someone like Magik who completely neglects managing her realm."
Illyana felt a bit awkward listening to this, but she did not refute it either. After all, it was the truth, and it now appeared that this was largely to blame on her hands-off approach in Limbo.
"In other words, we first cast out the bait, then deploy our ambush forces on the surface to make the opponent believe that's all there is to it." Peter summarized Strange's meaning. "And at that moment, we immediately charge out to stop Belasco?"
Strange nodded, but Peter found it a bit difficult to maintain composure. "That is Belasco, a dimensional demon lord. Can we actually beat him?"
"First of all, Belasco is no longer a dimensional demon lord. Of course, he remains a powerful dark sorcerer, just not as formidable as he once was."
To put it simply, Strange felt there would be no issue.
Peter resumed his contemplation, actively adding refinements to the entire plan. Currently, he still harbored many doubts regarding this strategy.
For instance, no one had even mentioned the actual strength of those demons in Limbo who were preparing to turn traitor, or whether that might cause the entire operation to fail.
For another instance, Limbo lacked the robust protective barriers found on Earth-616. Limbo was akin to a public restroom that anyone could enter; even Illyana could only manage to perceive them the moment they crossed into her realm.
This raised a crucial issue: according to this logic, Mephisto himself was entirely capable of storming into Limbo.
Peter consequently questioned Strange, "Have you come up with a method to deal with Mephisto?"
Strange answered Peter honestly, "I have a few ideas, but the problem is there's no way to test them. Alright everyone, let's prepare to head to Limbo. Moving out!"
"Let's show Belasco what we're made of!"
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