Viper stood still, but her skin crawled under Nolan’s gaze. It wasn’t just intimidation he looked at her like she was a puzzle to solve, not a person.
Trying to keep her edge, she spoke quickly. "I can help you consolidate the rest of Hydra."
She stepped closer. "Strucker’s faction. Zemo’s operatives. Everything they knew, every classified file on superhuman research, every weapon, it can all be yours."
Nolan studied her silently. Then spoke.
"Show me the Serpent Crown."
Viper hesitated but only for a breath. With a subtle gesture, the artifact materialized in her hands.
A grotesque crown seven intertwined snake heads frozen mid-snarl. It pulsed with a foul, otherworldly aura.
He didn’t even bother hiding his disgust. "That’s... repulsive. Whoever designed this clearly had no taste."
Aesthetic aside, he extended his mind, scanning the crown’s surface. Power leaked from it in waves—seven streams of volatile, negative energy. The very air around it seemed to ripple with entropy.
"You ever wear it?" he asked, eyes still locked on the artifact.
Viper’s voice dropped. "Only once. I stopped before it drove me insane."
She explained: ancient records warned that anyone who wore the crown and not just used it succumbed to Set’s will. Madness. Possession. Complete erasure of the original self.
Nolan frowned but didn’t press her further.
He already understood the danger.
Not from Set. But from the collision of Chthon’s contract and Set’s curse. For Viper, the two opposing forces balanced one another barely.
But wearing the crown? That would disrupt the balance. It would trigger a multiversal confrontation, perhaps even attract attention from Dormammu or Nyarlathotep.
"Four cosmic gods fighting over Earth?" Nolan murmured to himself. "Even the Vishanti would fold under that."
He turned back to her, voice flat.
"Be smart. Stay useful."
Viper nodded quickly. "Of course."
He opened a golden portal behind him. "You know what happens if you betray me."
"If you’re on this planet, I’ll find you."
Her head dipped again. "Yes... sir."
Satisfied for now Nolan disappeared into the portal.
Only once it sealed shut did Viper exhale, trembling.
"I actually survived..."
She chuckled to herself, eyes glinting. "Strucker and Zemo died playing soldiers. But I? I just became the last head of Hydra."
Oscorp HQ – Research Wing
Nolan stepped back into the lab.
"ELL," he said. "Tell the strike teams to focus all resources on the Gideon family. Prioritize elimination of the Inner Circle."
ELL’s voice replied through overhead speakers. "Confirmed. Oscorp squads have been updated. Strategic priority: Hive Ritual Interruption."
Then walked to a side chamber Zemo’s containment unit.
Inside, Zemo lay unconscious, strapped to a med-pod.
Nolan pressed his hand to Zemo’s forehead.
Psychometric feedback activated.
His mind dived into Zemo’s memories, scanning faces, names, coordinates, and flashpoints.
"Record those," he ordered. "Every operative. Every base. Every link."
ELL complied silently.
Then Nolan paused. A flashback appeared.
The Moonstone. Zemo’s ancestral relic. Passed down through generations.
"It’s a dimensional siphon," Nolan muttered. "Channeling residual magic. No wonder he had powers."
He noted something else.
The Adhesive-X formula. Unique to Zemo’s bloodline. A hyper-bonding compound with no known solvent. It had even fused to his mask, making it a permanent part of his face.
"I’ll log that for later."
He stepped back as Connors and Stern entered.
Stern had recovered well. With Connors’ help and some experimental skin-rebuilding serums, he now passed for a normal human again.
The two scientists stood ready.
"I’ll handle Zemo," Nolan said. "You two start on Viper."
Stern’s face lit up with curiosity. "The... Crown artifact?"
"She’s not just a host," Nolan corrected. "She’s a living equilibrium between two multiversal forces."
Stern nodded eagerly. "I’ve never had a live subject like that before."
Connors smirked. "Well, you’re in the right place."
Here, science and sorcery weren’t rivals they were collaborators.
And Nolan had just added a very valuable subject to the equation.
[Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
For early access to advanced Chapters on p@treon:
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!q