Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 96: Forging Titans, a Witch’s Sight, and Shadows Over Washington

The decision to elevate Jean-Paul Dubois and Angus Macgregor from their "Alpha Legion" Feral Striker Hybrid status to full [Tier 3 Prime Legionnaires] was not taken lightly by Elias Thorne, despite his ample Shard reserves ([5.9 Shards] after the Greenland haul and the creation of Legionnaire Secundus David). The System's warning of an "extremely traumatic" upgrade process, involving the "temporary deconstruction/reconstruction of existing enhancements," gave him pause. These were loyal, battle-hardened assets. Risking their stability, even their lives, for a power upgrade was a significant gamble.

But the allure of having two more True Legionnaires, soldiers like Marcus Thorne and David Ishiguro, was too potent. The global superhuman landscape was becoming increasingly volatile. Captain America's return, while currently contained by OSS secrecy, would eventually become public knowledge, inspiring a new wave of Allied superhuman initiatives. Hydra, under a potentially cybernetic Baron Strucker, was still a persistent, venomous threat. The Soviets, with their Winter Soldier and nascent "Project Red Son," were a brooding enigma. And the emergence of powerful, independent mutants like Xavier and Magneto added another layer of unpredictable complexity. Elias needed an undeniable edge, a core of absolute power loyal only to him.

Dubois and Macgregor, when recalled to the Montreal compound and presented with the proposition by Elias himself (Thomas MacIntyre present as a reassuring, if somewhat apprehensive, figure of authority), did not hesitate. Their fierce loyalty to Elias, forged in shared battle and the profound transformation he had already bestowed upon them, was absolute. The prospect of even greater power, of becoming more like the near-mythical Marcus Thorne whose presence they had briefly felt during their own Alpha Legion upgrade, was a powerful incentive.

"We are yours to command, Creator," Dubois had rumbled, his crimson-tinged Feral Legionnaire eyes fixed on Elias with unwavering devotion. Macgregor, ever the quieter predator, simply nodded, his assent a silent, unbreakable vow.

The upgrade process, conducted sequentially in Elias's deepest vault, was indeed harrowing. Elias, now a master of System energy manipulation after his last personal augmentation and the Legionnaire Prime genesis, personally oversaw and guided each transformation. He channeled the [2.5 Prime Essence Shards] and [300 System Energy Units] required for Dubois first.

The Quebecois strongman roared as his existing Feral Legionnaire enhancements were systematically deconstructed by the System, his bone claws retracting painfully, his heightened senses dulling, his very musculature seeming to unknot, only to be instantly, agonizingly reforged with the far more refined, potent energies of the True Legionnaire template. It was a crucible of pain and willpower. Dubois's screams echoed through the shielded vault for hours, his body contorting, his formidable healing factor pushed to its absolute breaking point as it tried to reconcile two vastly different superhuman blueprints. Elias poured his own psionic will into the process, reinforcing Dubois's mind, anchoring his loyalty, preventing his consciousness from shattering under the strain.

When it was over, Jean-Paul Dubois emerged...transcendent. He was taller, leaner, his raw, almost brutish Feral strength replaced by a more refined, explosive power. His bone claws were gone, but as he focused his will, his hands became encased in shimmering, golden energy constructs that mimicked razor-sharp gauntlets – his [Directed Energy Channeling] ability manifesting in a unique, personalized way. His eyes now held the same calm, golden light as Marcus Thorne's, his loyalty a burning, unshakeable nova.

[DUBOIS, JEAN-PAUL (LEGIONNAIRE TERTIUS) – TIER 3 PRIME EVOLUTION: SUCCESSFUL. All previous Feral Legionnaire abilities subsumed/enhanced by True Legionnaire Template. Unique Manifestation: "Energy Claws/Gauntlets." Loyalty: 100% (Praetorian Absolute). Prime Essence Shard Reserve: 3.4/???]

Angus Macgregor's transformation was next, equally brutal, equally successful. The Highland stalker emerged with his senses amplified to an almost unimaginable degree, capable of tracking not just scent and sound, but faint bio-energetic signatures. His energy channeling manifested as an ability to create localized fields of sensory disruption or "predator camouflage," making him an even more effective silent hunter. He became Legionnaire Quartus. Elias's Shard reserve dropped to [0.9/???].

He now commanded four True Legionnaires – Marcus, David, Dubois, and Macgregor – each a demigod of war, their powers subtly unique yet uniformly bound by the Praetorian Protocol's unbreakable loyalty to their Creator. Thomas MacIntyre, witnessing their final forms, felt a profound sense of awe, and a touch of something akin to fear. His Adamantium Guard had truly become Elias Thorne's angels of death, or salvation, depending on his will.

While Elias forged his new titans, other fronts demanded attention. Dr. Alistair Finch, his Arch-Necromancer Witch abilities growing in subtlety and power, provided a chilling update from his "Psionic Echo Retrieval" network and his analysis of captured Hydra/Soviet esoteric texts.

"Mr. Thorne," Finch reported, his face unusually pale during their holographic conference, his voice hushed, "the 'Nexus of Worlds' Schmidt sought... it's not just a theoretical dimensional gateway. It appears to be intrinsically linked to certain... pre-human terrestrial ley lines, and ancient, dormant entities. Some Hydra factions, particularly those influenced by Strucker's more occult leanings, believe these entities are not gods, but... older, vaster intelligences, perhaps even alien, whose awakening could grant unimaginable power or trigger global cataclysm. The Soviets, through their own dark research in Atomgrad, are apparently seeking similar nexuses, hoping to weaponize these 'telluric entities' or their energies."

Finch also mentioned that certain mutant abilities, particularly those of Omega-level telepaths like Xavier or reality-warpers (of whom the System had no confirmed examples yet, but Finch's texts hinted at their theoretical possibility), might act as "keys" or "resonators" for these nexuses. This immediately put Charles Xavier, and potentially Magneto if his powers had esoteric applications beyond magnetism, in even greater strategic focus for Elias. Controlling a nexus, or those who could control it, could mean controlling the very planet.

Anya Petrova's intelligence from Washington D.C. became increasingly focused on the re-emerged Captain America and the activities of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Steve Rogers, after a period of intense physical and psychological re-acclimation, was being cautiously redeployed by the SSR, primarily on missions targeting high-level Hydra remnants that had eluded conventional Allied forces. Peggy Carter was his primary handler, their bond a mixture of deep professional respect and unspoken emotional tension.

Anya managed to place a highly discreet, technologically advanced [System-Linked Micro-Observer Drone] (an O'Malley creation, no bigger than a fly, with limited cloaking and sensory relay capabilities) on one of Captain America's recent European missions. The data relayed was invaluable. Rogers was, indeed, a peerless soldier, his strength, speed, and tactical brilliance amplified by his unwavering moral compass. But he was also... isolated. A man out of time, struggling with the darker, more cynical realities of the Cold War, clashing frequently with the pragmatic, often ruthless, directives of his SSR superiors.

Elias saw an opening. Captain America's idealism, his inherent distrust of unchecked authority and morally grey operations, could make him a potential, if unwitting, destabilizing force within the American superhuman program itself – if subtly guided. Elias began to formulate a long-term strategy to position "Mr. Blanchard" not just as an intel source for Carter, but as a sympathetic, "neutral" confidant who understood the "burdens of unique power" and could offer Rogers a different perspective, subtly sowing seeds of doubt about his government's ultimate intentions. It was a delicate, high-risk gambit, requiring immense patience and psychological finesse.

The most immediate threat, however, still emanated from Senator Brandt and his presumed collaboration with Arnim Zola's digitized consciousness. Logan, after recovering from his Greenland ordeal (and developing a permanent, healthy aversion to extreme cold, despite his healing factor), was chomping at the bit for a new hunt. Miller, his Feral Striker "Trauma Variant" instincts now honed by combat and his unwavering loyalty to Logan, was his ever-present shadow.

Anya finally pinpointed Brandt's new black site: a sprawling, heavily disguised industrial complex in the seemingly innocuous agricultural belt of central California, a facility far larger and more sophisticated than the Nevada setup, codenamed "Harvest Prime." Reports indicated Brandt had acquired significant funding from a shadowy cabal of ultra-nationalist industrialists and disaffected military hardliners who believed America needed its own unquestioningly loyal super-soldier army, regardless of the ethical cost. Zola was rumored to be making rapid progress on stabilizing his "Berserker" serum variants and perfecting his Gespenst Kommando drone technology.

This was a direct threat to Elias's burgeoning North American power base and a potential source of rogue superhumans who could destabilize the entire continent. "Harvest Prime" had to be neutralized, and Zola's digital ghost permanently exorcised.

Elias Thorne looked at his True Legionnaires, their golden eyes awaiting his command. He looked at Logan and Miller, honed weapons of righteous fury. He considered Finch's necromantic legions, his own growing elemental and psionic might, and Namor's oceanic power. The pieces were in place. The world was a canvas of shadows and fire, and he, the System's chosen architect, was ready to paint his masterpiece, one carefully planned, brutally efficient stroke at a time. The next stroke would fall on California.