695. The New God of the Wasteland

House of Mystery.

A swirling violet portal burst open, and Alex strode out with urgency in his step.

"Yo, welcome back," came a casual voice.

In the middle of the grand hall, Tony Stark was tuning up one of his arcane-infused suits of armor. Spotting Alex's arrival, he gave a lazy wave.

Seeing that everything looked just as he remembered it, Alex relaxed slightly. He nodded to Stark and asked, "Why are you here alone? Where's everyone else?"

"They've all gone off to train the newborn gods."

"…Huh?" Alex tilted his head, not sure he'd heard that right.

Tony let out a long sigh and shook his head, as if already exhausted by the idea. "Since you left the Wasteland, we've been tracking all the deities emerging from the resurgence of magic, with the help of the Watcher. So far, we've catalogued over two thousand divine entities across the multiverse."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Two thousand?"

"Yeah," Stark continued, "but here's the problem—less than half of them want peace. Most of them are already sharpening their blades and preparing to conquer chunks of the cosmos. War's brewing, Alex."

Dean and Sam looked stunned. "Wait, seriously?" Dean asked. "They're gods and they're… picking fights?"

"That's not really surprising," Alex replied, thoughtful. "Don't forget—Odin, his father, and his grandfather all carved their empires through bloodshed. Gods have always sought to prove their worth through power. It's in their nature."

He turned back to Stark. "What about the Wasteland? Earth should've felt the strongest impact from the magic surge, right? What with the Sanctum Sanctorum and all those arcane legacies rooted here."

Tony's face twisted slightly at the mention. He hesitated, took a sip from the glass on the table, then finally spoke.

"Magic's return left a lot of marks on Earth after the Genesis Detonation… and not all of them good. Dark entities started surfacing again—more than we've seen in millennia. Reed suspects a bunch of micro-dimensions and old seals on Earth either fractured or outright collapsed, letting the monsters crawl back out."

With a gesture, Stark activated the smart glass windows. The view beyond shimmered and shifted, revealing live footage of shadowy horrors lurking in the Wasteland.

"Werewolves. Vampires. Gargoyles. Liches. And those are just the appetizers," Stark said grimly. "The real nightmare is the demons. Ancient ones. They call themselves 'Reapers.' They've been cutting deals and harvesting human souls to strengthen their dominion."

Watching the feed, Alex and the others understood—this was real-time surveillance. These monsters weren't coming. They were already here, running rampant in the Wasteland.

Then Dean spoke up, a sudden thought hitting him. "Hold on… if all these monsters are back, hasn't Earth birthed any gods of its own?"

Tony gave a wry smile. "Oh, we've got gods."

He flicked his hand again, changing the projection.

This time, what appeared in the glass was a towering figure bathed in radiant golden energy—its skin a deep violet, its presence shaking the very air around it.

Tony Stark looked at the glowing figure and introduced it dryly:

"It's my great honor to introduce you all to Earth's one and only god since Genesis... the God of Agriculture and Harvest—Thanos."

"Pffft!" ×2

Alex barely managed to hold it in, but Dean and Sam outright spat their drinks.

They'd spent enough time around the Wasteland's heroes to hear legends, but they had no idea Thanos had retired to the Wasteland... let alone become a god.

Tony, however, wasn't the least bit surprised by their reaction. Truth be told, this was par for the course. Everyone who heard about Thanos's divine ascension had needed a moment to process it.

"Honestly, it makes sense," Tony continued, shrugging. "According to Reed Richards's research, Thanos's potential was always leagues above ours. His lineage is... let's say nonstandard. So when the Genesis Shockwave hit, the power it awakened in him? Astronomical. Becoming a god was practically inevitable."

Dean blinked. "Okay, but now that he's got god-tier power again, he's not… I dunno, raising a new army? Trying to snap more fingers?"

"Nope," Tony said, shaking his head. "Apparently, the Mad Titan's fallen in love—with farming. His dream now? To grow every plant species in the entire universe... right here on Earth."

Sam gaped. "Wait, what? Every species in one place? That's a recipe for ecological disaster! Cross-contamination, invasive species, nutrient wars—hasn't he heard of biodiversity management?"

Tony gave a sarcastic chuckle, eyes narrowing slightly. "He's the God of Agriculture, Sam. Pretty sure he's past needing crop rotation schedules. Just last week, I personally saw him grow two full-grown Groots."

"G-G-GROOT?!" Sam's jaw dropped. Alex turned sharply toward Tony.

"Wait—the Groot? From the Guardians of the Galaxy? The last of the Flora colossi?"

"That's the one. The last known Groot gave his life in the final battle against the Cult of Truth. But somehow, Thanos—don't ask me how—revived the species. And now he's on a mission to ensure every lifeform in the universe has food."

Alex blinked, then burst out laughing. "Man… he really did land in the East back then, huh? Heart's getting redder by the day."

He shook his head in disbelief. Of all the things he never expected, this—Thanos, farming demigod, restoring ecosystems and growing Groots—was near the top of the list. But truthfully, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe the Wasteland had just gained an unexpected kind of salvation.

Alex paused for a moment, then turned to Tony Stark and asked,

"How's Universe Flashpoint-01 doing? Any signs of trouble over there?"

Tony, adjusting the gauntlet of his arcane-powered armor, replied casually,

"Flashpoint-01? Haven't been paying it much attention lately—Pietro's the field leader, that falls under his jurisdiction."

But as soon as he caught sight of the expression on Alex's face, Tony's demeanor instantly shifted. His voice grew serious.

"Wait. Something happened in Flashpoint-01?"

"Not confirmed yet." Alex shook his head, gesturing for Tony not to panic. "A group of corrupted Overseers is out for revenge. They're trying to erase any trace of my existence across the multiverse to destabilize it."

"You think... they're targeting Flashpoint-01?" Tony rubbed his chin, thoughtful.

"Highly likely," Alex said honestly. "I've racked my brain, and I can't think of another universe they could be aiming for."

Tony nodded slowly, then stepped forward.

"Alright, then let's go investigate. Reed Richards and his family have been galaxy-hopping with the Overseers lately, so I've been holding down the fort here at the Sanctum. I'm not up to speed on the off-world updates... but now that you mention it, I do recall Luthor's been making some very quiet military moves."

"Luthor?" Alex frowned slightly.

"Yeah, don't forget—it's Luthor who manages most of the interdimensional trade with Flashpoint-01. And now that the Wasteland has stabilized and is one of the top-tier civilizations in the multiverse... if he's quietly mobilizing the military, it's probably not without reason."

Alex nodded.

Luthor wasn't the type to act without purpose. If he was diverting Wasteland resources into militarization—especially under such rough conditions—it meant the threat wasn't just hypothetical. It was imminent.

And the Wasteland wasn't a soft target anymore. With its tech, resources, and Thanos—the literal God of Agriculture who could knock out a war god with a single punch—no one in their right mind would attack Earth unless they were truly desperate. So Luthor's gaze had clearly shifted beyond Earth... across the dimensional veil... toward Flashpoint-01.

Realizing this, Alex clapped Tony on the shoulder.

"Alright. I'll head to Luthor with Dean and Sam, see what he knows. You stay here and send word to Reed's family—let the Overseers know I'm back. Tell them to meet me in Luthor's sector."

"Got it." Tony didn't object.

But after a moment, he froze as something clicked.

"Wait... you want me to call Reed and the Overseers... to tell them you're back?"

"Is there a problem?" Alex asked with a playful smile, raising an eyebrow.

So… the Overseers couldn't even perceive Alex anymore?

Tony Stark opened his mouth to say something but ended up swallowing his astonishment.

"No problem. Nope, no problem at all."

After a beat, he added in a low voice, "Whatever trick you used… you gotta show me that later."

Alex chuckled. "Don't worry."

Then he turned and waved Dean and Sam over, signaling them to get ready to enter the Wasteland.

Now that they were at the Sanctum, there was no need to rely on Miss Minutes's powers to travel. Thanks to the special properties of this place, they could use its dimensional portals to head straight to Luthor's headquarters in the Federal Tower.

What's more, the Sanctum had protocols in place—visitors seeking official business with Luthor could schedule advance appointments. That meant the regulators here could ping Luthor's systems and give him a heads-up that someone from the Sanctum wanted to meet, prompting him to prepare accordingly.

After all, as the supreme leader of the Wasteland Federation, Luthor was a very busy man. With advance notice, both sides could operate more efficiently.

A burst of radiant light flared—and when the world around them came back into focus, Dean and Sam were stunned to find themselves standing in a land completely unlike anything they'd seen before.

...

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