Leon Ragnell's network spun up immediately.
One node was Natasha. Another was Tony Stark. A new one was Bruce Banner.
As for business partners, the closest was Helen Cho.
Within minutes, Tony was summoned to the White House.
He saw the footage of the Seventh Fleet's annihilation.
Tony was speechless.
"Seriously, why—why poke the guy at all?"
Tony didn't waste sympathy on the Seventh Fleet. He knew exactly how strong Leon was. A man like that? You treat him well and pray you never tick him off.
People aren't equal even among themselves.
And compared to Leon, you're not even the same species.
How strong was he?
And you geniuses chose to provoke him.
You think you can afford the bill?
"Stark, we've noted your close ties with Leon," President Matthew Ellis said, lowering his stance. "We're hoping you'll talk to him. Please tell him everything is negotiable. What Americans want most—above all—is peace."
Tony just stared.
Before the shooting started, you wanted to turn him into a living weapon.
After you got slapped, suddenly you're peace-loving.
Truly…
Shameless.
But also… very on brand.
"I can talk to him," Tony said, taking a breath.
Ellis nodded. "Ask him to hold his hand for now. Sit down with us—everything can be discussed."
Ellis could more or less read the room: Leon wasn't trying to end the world, or even to wipe out the United States. If he could one-shot the Seventh Fleet, taking down the U.S. would not be hard.
If he hadn't done it, that meant there was still room to negotiate.
Data from the Black Widow suggested something else.
The guy liked women.
As long as a man still has desires, you can work with that.
Best-case scenario? Bring him into America's orbit.
He was a deterrent scarier than nukes.
Tony hesitated. "If he names his terms—will you accept them?"
"We will," Ellis said without blinking. "Absolutely."
"Alright. I'll talk to him." Tony inhaled, then pinged Leon.
...
...
Hawaiʻi.
Leon lounged in the sun, waiting for the Americans to reach out.
They had five minutes. If they failed to contact him by then, the Third Fleet was next.
Then another five-minute window.
No rush. America had plenty of fleets.
But Leon wasn't planning to go overboard.
Earth mattered. Push things too far and there would be consequences.
For instance, the Ancient One; the Celestial slumbering within Earth—Tiamut; and the Time Variance Authority that polices timelines. Until Leon's power was truly untouchable, it was unwise to make a mess too big to mop up.
Beep-beep.
A voice chimed in his head—Eve. "Master, Tony Stark is requesting a link. Do you want to take it?"
Leon had an implant that let him interface with the outside world whenever he wanted.
With Majin Buu's cells, he could stash a lot of things inside his body.
He nodded. "Patch him through."
"Leon!" Tony's voice came through a moment later. "I saw the footage of you erasing the Seventh Fleet—my god, that was… staggering!"
"So, the U.S. government sent you?" Leon asked.
"They did," Tony said. "Can we sit down and talk? The President told me—whatever your demands are, he's prepared to agree."
Leon smiled. "Good. Wait for me."
He was ready to call it good. If this spun out too far, and the TVA or the Ancient One stepped in, that would be… inconvenient.
...
...
Tony ended the call.
A few minutes later, the air split with a sharp crack.
Leon was suddenly standing in front of him.
"Tony." Leon grinned and dropped onto the couch. "Your best whisky."
Tony poured. "The U.S. Government asked me to negotiate. Name your terms."
"First, I enjoy my current life. I don't want to be bothered. I know S.H.I.E.L.D., the government, and the military all want to 'study' me, but…" Leon shrugged, disdain in his eyes. "Let them try. The Seventh Fleet was this round. Next time, I won't mind dismantling every weapon the United States has."
"Second, Bruce Banner is my friend. You too. I want your government to keep its hands off."
"Third… I haven't decided yet."
Leon spread his hands. "I'll add it when I think of it."
Truth was, he didn't expect the U.S. to offer anything he needed.
The Space Stone? Would they hand it over?
He could sense ki, but he couldn't pinpoint the Space Stone's location.
Grabbing Nick Fury wouldn't help—soul-searching wasn't his thing.
Torture? Useless on that old spymaster.
If Fury died, where would Leon even look for the Space Stone?
Better to have Eve hack S.H.I.E.L.D., find the stone, and take it.
Or just wait for Avengers 1—then snatch both the Space Stone and the Mind Stone.
No biggie.
"That's it?" Tony said. "Leon, I've got to say—those terms are basically nothing. Let me handle the rest."
(End of Chapter)
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