Red Queen's Secret

Thanos and Darkseid looked at Ivan in amazement. They didn't realize that Ivan didn't use his full power by choice but because he couldn't.

Just now, Ivan seemed to counter the attacks from Thanos and Darkseid effortlessly, but in reality, it was far from easy. By using the future phantom stored in the mirror, he pushed his power to the limit, causing significant damage to his body.

Ivan had originally avoided using the future phantoma's power because it was a double-edged sword: it harmed him almost as much as it did his enemies. The last time he used this power against Thanos and Darkseid, he was severely injured and took over 20 years to recover. Although the injuries were not as severe this time, it would still take several months to heal fully.

The future phantom separated from Ivan's body and returned to the mirror. The absolute rationality in Ivan's eyes faded, replaced by his usual agility, and he breathed a long sigh of relief. The process had been grueling.

Ivan looked at Thanos and Darkseid. They were both in rough shape. Darkseid's eyes were bleeding, and he gritted his teeth in pain, his temples bulging from the strain of compressing Omega's power. Thanos' arm, which he had used to attack Ivan, was bloody and covered with scars and cracks from the interaction of two extreme forces. His arm was shaking, indicating the severity of his injury.

"Impressive," Ivan acknowledged. He first addressed Thanos:

"The power that counters destruction is unique to your Titan family, a testament to why the Eternal Titan clan is one of the universe's strongest. It seems you've been tapping into your bloodline's power to enhance your strength, but you haven't fully mastered it yet."

Ivan then turned to Darkseid: "Compressing Omega's power can increase its lethality, but incorporating it into your eyes was a mistake. Eyes are fragile and can't handle such power, so you've hurt yourself."

Darkseid smiled bitterly. He had incorporated Omega's power into his eyes for flexibility, confident that no one could withstand it. But Ivan had pushed Omega to its limit, injuring Darkseid.

Darkseid sighed, "Who would have thought someone like you would appear? Since gaining Omega's power, I've never met anyone like you. Even Thanos can only block it briefly before dodging it. Everyone else falls in one move. We've used our best weapons and still can't defeat you. We've lost but won't give up without a fight."

Ivan replied, exasperated, "Fight? You two are half dead, and I'm not much better. Forcing my strength to counter your ultimate moves nearly killed me. My injuries just aren't visible. All I want now is to return to my spaceship and rest."

Thanos and Darkseid were stunned. They thought Ivan was unscathed. Seeing his calm demeanor, they realized he was also injured. This made sense; if Ivan were as strong as they had thought, he wouldn't have struggled against them for so long.

"You just revealed your condition?" Thanos asked incredulously. Shouldn't he pretend to be okay and use the opportunity to defeat them?

"Why not? Since we've decided to stop, there's no point in hiding it. If I kept fighting, you'd push harder, and my injuries would become apparent. I'm not risking my life unnecessarily, so let's end it here."

"Agreed," Darkseid conceded.

"We've fought enough today. I've never been this injured."

He wiped the blood from his eyes, relieved they weren't permanently damaged. Omega's power was his strongest weapon, and any mishap would have been disastrous.

Thanos gently rubbed his injured arm. The damage caused by the clash of two extreme powers was severe, and he needed medical attention as soon as possible.

In a rare moment of mutual understanding, the three slowly stepped back, distancing themselves. Once they were sure there would be no further attacks, they turned and flew towards their respective spaceships.

Thanos and Darkseid were closer to their ships. Upon returning, they immediately issued orders, and their spaceships and battleships quickly turned and disappeared.

When Ivan returned to the Cosmic Walker, his face suddenly turned pale, his body swayed, and he nearly collapsed. Shaw quickly supported him while his generals gathered around, asking nervously, "How is it? Is the injury serious?"

Ivan shook his head and signaled them to calm down. "It's nothing, just like last time. The damage is to my core, but it's not as serious. It will take a few months of recovery, but I won't be able to intervene in matters on Earth. You must stay vigilant against the Obsidian General; Earth must rely on its forces to handle this crisis."

Hearing Ivan mention Earth, Shaw's face showed a hint of coldness. "Don't worry about them. Those people on Earth deserve what they get. They used a conspiracy to drive you out, so they should face the consequences. We've established a presence in the universe and live much better than we did on Earth. We should bring all the mutants from Skull Island and anyone connected to us here. There's no need to play their games anymore."

Stakar, Borgin, and Apocalypse nodded in agreement. Initially, Shaw and the others didn't know Ivan had been expelled, but eventually, the news spread, creating a strange atmosphere among the mercenaries.

After entering the universe, they gained more knowledge, resources, and power. They began to see Earth as a small place with limited opportunities. However, they didn't know that Ivan couldn't abandon Earth. Many major future events would originate there, and Ivan wanted to be involved to get what he desired. The actual value of Earth was something even Apocalypse couldn't fully understand.

"Okay, this matter is over, and there's no loss to me, so let's not mention it again. Even though we're doing well in the universe, Earth is still our home. The mercenaries wouldn't want anything to happen to their hometown. Besides, Chris and Kyle aren't willing to leave Earth. They might have girlfriends there now. It's our roots and our future. We can't let them be in danger. We should help if we can."

Shaw glared at Ivan angrily. "Chris and the others will be fine. Don't think I don't know you've given them plenty of life-saving tools. If necessary, they can leave Earth anytime. I suspect that even if Earth is destroyed, they will survive. Besides, even if we want to help, we can do nothing right now. You're injured, so rest. Leave the rest to us."

"Okay, Dad! Okay! I'm going to rest. I don't need help; I'll handle it myself."

Although Ivan was injured, he didn't need support. He returned to his bedroom alone and lay on the bed to rest, but he found it difficult to fall asleep. His mind kept drifting back to the situation on Earth.

Ivan carefully considered the situation. This time, Thanos and Darkseid's invasion of Earth would differ from the original Avengers storyline. It wouldn't be as simple as the Chitauri invasion; at the very least, Darkseid would add his demon army. Knowing that Ivan and his mercenary Corps were from Earth, they would be wary of Earth's strong defenders. There would likely be a powerful master guarding the place, though Ivan wasn't sure who it would be.

Thinking about this made Ivan even more restless. He sat up from the bed and muttered, "I need to remind Chris and the others. If necessary, they may have to activate the giant soldiers. And the backups I prepared earlier must be ready at all times. I'll use my trump card on Earth if things get terrible. Red Queen, I trust you won't let me down."

Few knew that the Red Queen was Ivan's most trusted, closest, and most important "person." To everyone else, the Red Queen appeared to be an advanced artificial intelligence created by Ivan. They had no idea how she indeed came into being.

Initially, Ivan used equipment from the Kryptonian spacecraft and his blood cells to create the Red Queen, akin to one of the advanced computers from "Lucy."

Because of the integration of Ivan's genes, the Red Queen's brain is synchronized with his. After highly opening the brain domain, she could directly receive information from Earth and even the universe with Ivan's help, essentially making her a clone of Ivan in some respects.

Usually, the Red Queen only operated using a subroutine, dedicating most of her resources to collecting and processing information, constantly evolving and growing more powerful. It could shake the entire universe if she ever unleashed her full power.

In addition, the Red Queen served as Ivan's ultimate safeguard. If Ivan ever faced a powerful opponent and was killed, he could use the Red Queen to resurrect. In the Marvel universe, Ultron was immortal because he could invade Earth's network, allowing him to be resurrected as long as any program of his remains. Similarly, the Red Queen had infiltrated most of the universe's networks. Her unimaginable power made her one of Ivan's most formidable cards.

With this in mind, Ivan sent a message to Red Queen. Soon, various dark world forces controlled by Ivan on Earth began to mobilize. Chris, Kyle, Clark, the mutant troops led by the Red Devil, the mercenary troops led by Arnold, and even the mutants on Skull Island were preparing for battle. The atmosphere grew tense.