Symbiote 0320: President Coulson

Earth-21798B

"Sir, your Chief of Staff is here for the debriefing meeting," a woman spoke through the phone on the President's desk.

"Send him in," Phil Coulson, the current President of the United States, answered.

Moments later, the door to the Oval Office opened as an elegantly dressed man with some light stubble entered.

"Morning, Mr. President," the Chief of Staff spoke.

"Morning, Al," the President nodded. "Tell me you have good news?"

"We got word from the Squadron Supreme just an hour ago," he said. "The army has officially taken over Alberta… but …"

"What happened?"

"They got into a conflict with the Alpha Flight. We lost Hyperion."

"Hmm …" The President frowned. "That is indeed a problem. He was one of our heavy hitters. Prepare for his funeral …" The man raised his brow when he saw the look on his Chief of Staff's face. "What?"

"While the Supreme Squadron was chasing after the mutant responsible for Hyperion's death, they were ambushed by a coven. They injured Power Princess and took all of her magical equipment. They seemed to have been aware of the thing with the Alpha Flight and attacked at the most opportune time to take things that they wanted."

"It's fine as long as they accomplished their mission. We can let them battle it out with the Alpha Flight to curb their anger. What about British Columbia?"

"The Salem Coven has already established themselves there. We don't have the necessary tools to counteract them. With the hotspot under their control, they have enough power to wipe out any army we send there."

The President hummed, with a frown, tapping his finger on the desk. "We need that hotspot, Al," he said seriously. "Only with these emerging magical hotspots under our control can we hope to contend against whatever it is out there."

"Are you sure about that, Mr. President?" The man asked. "We have already occupied seventeen magical hotspots that have appeared all across the country, but without the correct personnel, they are just slightly more expensive pieces of land for us. We can't actually capitalize on them."

"We still have to hold them in our hands. Ever since the Eighteenth Century, witches had all but completely hidden themselves from the public eye. With the emergence of these hotspots all over the world, they have the power to not only resist but also fight back against any witch hunts that we organize. We can only battle those who practice such witchcraft with beings of a similar caliber. As long as we hold enough hotspots, it will become irresistible for certain witches to dedicate themselves to our cause. That is when holding these spots will come in handy. So I don't care about how we are souring international relations. We need Alberta and British Columbia … Unfortunately, one of them is already lost to us."

"I apologize if you feel that I am overstepping my bounds, but have you considered the nuclear option, sir? Whatever hotspots have been occupied by witches in Europe and Asia have led to rampant destruction in their surroundings. They kidnap people who are not magically inclined for unknown purposes, but they are never seen again in the public eye. British Columbia's hotspot is the first in the continent to have been taken over by a coven, and the precedent it sets will make the others even bolder."

"We cannot," the President shook his head. "The destruction of any of the hotspots will lead to a cascading effect of the others bursting out with greater energy. The remaining covens will become a threat to civilization itself if something like that happens. Not to mention that specific hotspot is outside our country's borders."

The expression on the Chief of Staff's face showed that he wasn't particularly sure how the President knew all this, but he didn't pry.

"Understood, sir."

"I'm going to have a meeting with the World Council in the evening today regarding exactly this issue. You're dismissed for now," the man nodded at Al and lowered his head to focus on a document regarding some proposal.

"Yes, President Coulson," the man nodded seriously and momentarily glanced above the President's head before turning around.

Just as he was about to exit the room, the man grunted, "Fuck …"

"Al?" the President frowned. "What is it?"

"You'll see …" the man sighed as if accepting his fate and turned to look at the President with his arms crossed.

Suddenly, the president stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on his desk. His action was followed by a violent gust of wind entering through the open window as if a tornado was assaulting the building. A heavy aura blanketed the room, imposing a suppressive aura over the indifferent-looking Chief of Staff.

"I've been concerned about you since the start …" the President's voice came out far deeper and intimidating than before. It was as if there was an ethereal echo to his voice. "Who really are you? Alex Hunt." His mere words were accompanied by a fiery aura as the violent winds took up a shade of orange crimson.

"Me?" Alex smiled. "What are you talking about, Coulson? You're the one who appointed me as your Chief of Staff."

Suddenly, the violent aura weakened as a complex magical model appeared on the ceiling of the room and started sucking in all of the energy that Coulson had released.

"What is this feeling of dread that accompanies you?" The president frowned as the magical model started its activation procedure and glowed brightly.

"Are you sure that you are human? This kind of sixth sense is usually possessed by more eldritch creatures like demons, no?" Alex teased further, not caring about the spell that was close to being activated.

"No matter," Phil frowned. "While this will set my plans back significantly, your continued existence could quite possibly be a hindrance to my future … projects."

"I'm surprised that you are willing to drain away all of the country's magical hotspots just to deal with little old me," Alex smiled. "I guess I should be flattered that you are putting so much importance on me to use your super special secret weapon on me."

"I have been keeping an eye on you, Apex," Phil said with a grave expression. "I have already pinpointed your magical presence on all Forty Earths and even beyond that. You have given me the perfect opportunity for this now that one of your anchor selves is approaching this planet."

"Your logic may be sound, Mephisto," Alex smiled with a gleam of madness in his eyes. "But do you really think I don't have countermeasures prepared for this? If the real you existed, I might have been concerned, but just a remnant consciousness doesn't pose any real threats to me."

"What makes you think that the real me doesn't exist in this universe? No matter. I'm almost done …" The man trailed off as the magical model on the ceiling extended outward into a complex three-dimensional model that made Alex feel overwhelmed by its convoluted structure the moment he laid eyes on it. Just as it was completed, an immense magical presence descended upon the entire state of Washington, pulling in magical energy from all over the continent. And the brunt of that presence was borne by the White House.

The monumental building that had stood tall for two centuries, under the weight of such an immense magical presence, started collapsing as if an earthquake of an unheard-of magnitude was assaulting it. Within seconds, the entire building crumbled into a pile of slowly disintegrating debris as barely any occupants made it out of the building alive.

The magical aura was so dense that it condensed into a fiery mist that twisted around the fallen debris, forming a minor tornado that brought ruin to the surroundings. At the eye stood two humans facing each other. One of them held a red cube in his hand that was sucking in all of the magical energy at a violent pace, while the other stood with an amused expression.

"Do you really think that the Pandemonium Cube is going to help you here? I have Infinity Stones tethered to my soul."

"Maybe if you had the complete stones. Yes, you could resist this," Phil nodded. "But you barely possess a few of those broken-down fragments. They can't protect you."

"How lively," a third voice entered the fray as the violent storm of magical energies continued to get sucked into the Pandemonium Cube. "Mind if I join this lovely little fray?"

"Finally," the demonic voice of Phil Coulson was excited as a redheaded woman appeared from a rift that appeared in space. She didn't even glance at him, as if her eyes only had Alex in them, unwilling to even turn her head. "Goodbye, Apex. You were a competent assistant if I discount all of your snooping and goading."

A vermillion beam of light suddenly shot out of the cube in Phil's hand, directly targeting the defenseless Wanda the moment she appeared through the rift.

***

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