With Nick Fury absent, controlling Alexander Pierce essentially meant controlling S.H.I.E.L.D. The organization might still operate under its familiar banner, but the real power structure had quietly shifted. Director Coulson had only recently stepped into the position, and he lacked the experience and authority necessary to challenge someone like Pierce. He was still busy trying to stabilize the agency, laying the groundwork for his leadership while navigating the complex web of politics inside the organization.
With Vane supporting him behind the scenes, Pierce's influence had grown far stronger than it had ever been before. The resources Hydra could quietly access through S.H.I.E.L.D. were expanding at an alarming pace. For Hydra, a group that had dreamed of ruling the world for decades, the possibility of finally realizing that ambition seemed closer than ever. In many ways, it looked as if the organization's long-held wish might ultimately be fulfilled through Vane's hands.
Yet Vane himself had no illusions about the limits of brute force. Even something as terrifying as three airborne helicarriers could never truly control the entire world. Raw military power alone simply wasn't enough to dominate a planet this large and chaotic. The same logic applied to the Justice League. Even if the group possessed extraordinary individuals, expecting them to impose global order on their own was unrealistic.
If anyone needed proof of that, they only had to look at the country that came closest to global dominance: the United States. The nation commanded hundreds of warships, thousands of fighter jets, and a military numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Even with that overwhelming strength, it still struggled constantly to maintain influence across the globe. In many situations, it found itself stretched thin, dealing with crisis after crisis while barely keeping up.
For someone like Vane, that reality was an important lesson. Regardless of how powerful an individual might be, ruling the world required a massive and stable power base. He needed forces that were large in number, powerful in capability, and reliable in loyalty. Only then could true global control even become possible.
Given his own advantages, Vane believed the technological side deserved significant investment. Magical cultivation required far too much time and patience to produce results, and directly granting power through the Divine Kingdom consumed too much of his source energy. It simply wasn't efficient on a large scale. If he wanted an army, he needed something that could be replicated quickly and deployed easily.
That naturally led him to the mutation path.
One option was the second-tier enhanced soldier program. Another possibility involved the Abomination serum or even variants of the Hulk serum. External power sources also had potential. Vibranium weapons, for example, could dramatically increase the combat capability of ordinary soldiers. Even more promising was the idea of self-replicating symbiote armor.
Unfortunately, each of those choices had limitations. Second-generation enhanced soldiers simply weren't powerful enough to match the level he wanted. The Abomination and Hulk serums were still unstable and far from safe for mass production. Symbiote armor, however, had enormous potential.
For quite some time, Vane had been quietly monitoring the activities of the Life Foundation. Just a few days earlier, their Life One spacecraft had crashed somewhere in East Malaysia, carrying alien samples back to Earth. That event marked the perfect opportunity. Now all he had to do was go collect what he needed.
San Francisco was where the Life Foundation had established its headquarters. The facility stood near the famous red suspension bridge, making it a prominent landmark along the coastline. With Vane's abilities, arranging a private meeting with the organization's founder proved effortless.
Carlton Drake, the foundation's owner, was clearly surprised when the meeting began. The wealthy businessman studied Vane with visible confusion before finally speaking. "Mr. Theodore Vane? I don't believe we've had any dealings with each other."
Vane's expression immediately turned displeased. He leaned back in his chair as if deeply offended by the comment. "How could that possibly be true?" he replied calmly. "I saved the world in New York."
His tone carried a hint of righteous indignation, as though Drake had just committed a serious insult. "Aren't you part of this world?" Vane continued with a faint smile. "Everyone who's still alive owes me a little gratitude."
Drake stared at him in silence. Inside his mind, a long stream of extremely impolite responses immediately formed, but none of them reached his lips. Although the man sitting across from him sounded arrogant to an almost absurd degree, there was an uncomfortable truth behind his claim. The Battle of New York had been a global catastrophe, and the individuals who stopped it had genuinely saved millions of lives.
After a moment, Drake forced a polite expression and shifted the conversation. "So," he said with restrained patience, "what exactly is the purpose of this meeting?"
"Helping you is the same as helping me," Vane answered lightly. His smile widened slightly as he rose from his seat. "Let's go take a look at how my symbiote is doing."
There was excitement in his voice, almost like a child eager to see a new toy. "I've been looking forward to meeting those little cuties."
Drake's eyes widened for a brief moment. The fact that Vane knew about the symbiotes at all was alarming, but he still tried to maintain his composure. "Symbiotes?" he said stiffly. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
Vane sighed softly and tapped the ring on his finger. The gesture carried a quiet sense of authority that Drake immediately understood.
"Boss," Drake said after a short pause, his tone suddenly much more obedient. "Please come with me."
When they arrived at the laboratory, Vane quickly noticed something strange. Several containment units stood along the walls, but most of them were empty. He glanced around with mild surprise before speaking.
"Why is there only one left?"
Drake hesitated before answering. "Someone broke into the lab yesterday and took one of the symbiotes."
Vane scratched his head thoughtfully. The timing was almost amusingly precise. It seemed the story was already unfolding faster than he expected.
Had that famous journalist already crossed paths with the creature?
He quickly dismissed the thought. The symbiote called Venom wasn't the target of his plan anyway. From Vane's perspective, those individual specimens were far less important than their origin.
Although symbiotes could reproduce asexually, the process was far too slow if he relied only on the few samples currently on Earth. If he wanted an army, the most efficient solution was obvious.
He needed access to the symbiote homeworld.
That meant working with Riot.
Vane intended to allow Drake and Riot to merge just as they would in the original sequence of events. The difference was that Riot's independent consciousness would quietly fall under the control of the Divine Kingdom. Once that was accomplished, the rest of the plan would unfold naturally.
Drake would launch the prepared rocket and travel toward the symbiote planet while carrying one of Vane's portal seeds. Riot would return home like a triumphant explorer, unknowingly bringing with him a doorway that connected two worlds.
The moment that gateway opened, Vane wouldn't even need to persuade the symbiotes to cross over. Curiosity and instinct would do the work for him. Countless creatures would pour through the portal in search of a new world to inhabit.
If even a fraction of them arrived, he would soon command an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
A Venom army.
The image alone was enough to make him smile.
However, there was still one obstacle standing in the way of that future.
The traitor among the symbiotes.
Venom.
Drake's employees were useless, and Drake himself wasn't particularly impressive either. Vane had no intention of relying on them for something this important. Instead, he decided to handle the situation personally.
He wanted to evaluate the symbiote's combat ability firsthand. Only then could he determine whether these creatures met his standards for large-scale deployment. At the same time, he was curious about the effectiveness of their two well-known weaknesses.
Fire.
And sound waves.
If those vulnerabilities proved too severe, he would have no choice but to begin a second-generation breeding program.
Based on his understanding, symbiote offspring were often stronger than their predecessors. Creatures like Carnage, Toxin, and others all descended from Venom, and many of them displayed greater resilience against fire and sonic attacks. In addition to inheriting their parent's abilities, they frequently developed unique powers of their own.
Theoretically, the Divine Kingdom's analytical abilities might even allow him to modify them further. If advanced alterations were possible, the symbiotes could become far more efficient weapons. Of course, the question was how much source energy such modifications would require.
If the cost exceeded the price of creating a Wolverine-level asset, it wouldn't be worth it.
Anything above a five-to-one ratio would be unacceptable.
Drake had already located Eddie Brock's apartment address. When Vane arrived, the process was swift and efficient. He knocked on the door, restrained the journalist with mental power, and pulled both him and the symbiote into the Divine Kingdom in a single smooth motion.
Over time, the Divine Kingdom had grown dramatically. As it expanded, the range of Vane's mental power in the outside world increased as well. At this point, the fifty-meter area surrounding him was essentially his personal territory.
Inside the Divine Kingdom, Vane carefully analyzed the symbiote.
Eddie Brock himself was completely unimportant to him. The man was simply a journalist who had ruined his own life through selfish choices, even causing his girlfriend to lose her job in the process. Someone like that had no value inside the Divine Kingdom.
After erasing Brock's memories, Vane quietly returned him to his apartment.
His attention remained focused on the symbiote.
The analysis revealed impressive results. The creature possessed tremendous physical strength, extraordinary speed, remarkable durability, and incredible endurance. Its ability to liquefy and reshape itself made it extremely versatile in combat.
An army formed from such creatures would be terrifying.
More importantly, symbiotes could also enhance existing superpowered individuals. The potential synergy between them and Earth's heroes was almost limitless.
Imagine a paralyzed genius suddenly able to walk without a wheelchair because a symbiote reinforced his body. Imagine a long-range energy fighter who could now engage enemies in brutal close-quarters combat. The visual impact alone was astonishing.
The thought of Venom-enhanced titans like the Hulk or Juggernaut was even more thrilling.
And if someone like Thanos appeared one day…
Vane smiled faintly.
Arrogance would be a dangerous mistake.
As for the two weaknesses, they were not as catastrophic as some people believed. With careful breeding and selective evolution, those vulnerabilities could be reduced significantly. The energy cost of such improvements seemed manageable.
Two days later, Vane was still staying at the Life Foundation when an unexpected visitor arrived.
A blonde little girl appeared at the facility and immediately approached Carlton Drake. Without speaking a single word, she touched him.
In an instant, Riot possessed Drake's body.
The alien symbiote never expected the situation to be a trap.
When Drake calmly led it toward Vane, Riot suddenly sensed something wrong. Panic surged through its instincts, and it tried to escape immediately.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Within moments, both Riot and Drake were dragged into the Divine Kingdom.
When they emerged again, they had become very close partners.
The Life Foundation had already completed preparations for the rocket launch, and the mission proceeded without delay. As the spacecraft roared into the sky and gradually disappeared into the distance, Vane watched silently from the ground.
His thoughts were already drifting toward the future.
Toward the day when his Venom army would finally become reality.
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