Marvel Multiverse: Family System

Zod was pinned in place by telekinesis, unable to move.

"Go check it out for yourself. I'll open the portal again in five minutes to bring you back."

Releasing the restriction, the black liquid instantly engulfed Zod, pulling him to the other side of the portal. Vex stopped the vibrations in his arm, and the black teleportation stone returned to its original form.

"Whoosh—"

A projection of Jor-El appeared, staring at Vex without expression.

"Is there really such a planet?" Jor-El asked.

Vex ignored him.

—You dared to kick me out before?

He put the black teleportation stone away and turned to leave, not looking back.

Exiting the Kryptonian ship, Vex didn't leave right away but instead looked towards North America. One of the planetary terraforming devices was in operation, kicking up dust clouds that darkened the sky, visible even from here.

"Ring-ring—"

The default ringtone of the phone sounded. He had been too busy lately to change it.

Just as he pulled it out, the phone automatically answered itself.

"Where the hell are you?" Fury roared. "Both American and Russian cities have fallen!"

"Those idiots in the Security Council have already issued the nuclear launch order. They're planning to strike over 200 cities!"

"In ten minutes, the first nuke will be fired. Are you going to act or not?"

Once Fury finished his rant, Vex lazily spoke up.

"If nothing goes wrong, all the Kryptonians will stop in five minutes. Just hold your position and—"

Before he could finish, a brilliant light shot into the sky—one of the planetary terraformers in North America had exploded!

Vex twitched.

Looks like he was a step too late.

"That... that shouldn't affect the outcome, right?" Fury asked tentatively.

"What do you think?" Vex said calmly. "I was negotiating with Zod to give them a more suitable planet for rebuilding Krypton. Now that you've blown up their only terraforming device, how am I supposed to negotiate?"

Fury: "..."

"Well, you're all doomed now. I'm packing my bags and getting ready to leave."

"Wait! Wait!" Fury quickly responded. "Whatever the terms, as long as you can fix this problem, I'll make sure S.H.I.E.L.D. agrees to everything!"

By saying this, Fury had already prepared himself for a massive compromise.

He was at a loss for how to keep Vex involved, fearing that if the offer wasn't enticing enough, Vex might just leave for good.

To be honest, Vex was quite pleased now.

—He never really planned on running away. He was just using this opportunity to squeeze a bit more out of them.

"Alright, I happen to know how to fix these planetary terraformers," Vex said casually. "Get someone to gather the wreckage. We'll know the result in three minutes."

"No problem!"

After hanging up, Vex figured enough time had passed. He took out the black teleportation stone, vibrating his arm to reopen the portal.

Zod walked out, his face a mix of concern and joy.

Suddenly!

A cloud of black mist shot out from the portal, heading straight for Zod, who was the closest.

"Zap—"

Zod fired a blast of heat vision, igniting the mist into a fleeting spark that quickly burned away.

Vex blinked.

Was that... Hive?

Hopefully, the old Hydra members wouldn't die of rage when they found out.

"It's too small over there," Zod said, frowning. "I circled the planet, and it wasn't even enough for a warm-up."

"Just tell me if the location is suitable," Vex shot back.

Zod fell silent.

The location... was a paradise for Kryptonians, even if it was harsh for humans.

In just a few minutes, Zod felt himself grow several times stronger, even unlocking a life-force field that allowed him to fly.

If they could stay in that environment long-term...

"It seems you're quite satisfied with the location," Vex nodded. "If the planet's too small, just capture nearby celestial bodies and build it up yourselves. You have the planetary terraformers. It'll just take a bit more effort."

Zod was speechless.

This alien seemed to understand Kryptonian technology better than he did.

Speaking of which...

················································

Zod looked towards North America, his eyes widening!

—Where's the massive planetary terraformer?

Hurriedly, he opened the combat channel and learned that the terraformer had been destroyed.

His rage spiked instantly, building like a volcano about to erupt...

"Buzz—"

The time-stop field expanded.

This time, Zod retreated a hundred meters but still couldn't escape.

"Calm down and listen to me," Vex said nonchalantly. "You—"

"You've destroyed the terraformers, what more is there to say?" Zod roared. "Krypton and Earth... we will fight to the last—"

Vex sealed Zod's mouth shut, rolling his eyes.

"These genetically engineered Kryptonians really do have personality flaws," Vex muttered. "It's just broken; we can fix it."

Zod remained furious, unwilling to believe a word Vex said.

Did he think it was some toy? That it could be fixed just like that?

That was the pinnacle of Kryptonian technology!

Vex didn't waste any more words.

He pulled out his phone, threw it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.

Then, using his telekinesis, he lifted the pieces, activating the Horse Talisman to restore it.

The shattered fragments instantly reassembled into a perfectly intact phone.

Vex held the phone up to Zod's face.

"I'm not from this planet. I come from a civilization far more advanced than Krypton!"

"Don't let your narrow understanding judge my abilities."

He released the time-stop field.

Zod's rage subsided, and he grabbed the phone, inspecting it thoroughly.

Not trusting it, he crushed the phone in his hands again and handed the pieces back to Vex.

"If you can fix it again..."

Before Zod could finish, Vex had already restored the phone with the Horse Talisman.

Zod fell silent.

He admitted he might have spoken too loudly just now.

Now that he'd calmed down, he began thinking about the current situation.

The planetary terraformer was destroyed, and he was entirely at Vex's mercy.

While his 3,000 Kryptonian warriors could cause significant chaos, it was far from enough to destroy the Earth.

It seemed...

Zod didn't really have any other options.

"I understand," Zod nodded. "Since this is a trade, you're offering a planet. What do you want in return?"

"Simple. All of Krypton's technological knowledge," Vex smiled.

This wasn't just asking for a lot—it was practically robbery!

Yet Zod didn't refuse outright.

If he agreed, Krypton would lose its technological edge but could still continue to develop.

If he refused...

Krypton would cease to exist.

Kara and Kal-El?

Traitors didn't count as Kryptonians!

"I understand," Zod said solemnly. "I agree to the trade, but only after Krypton is fully rebuilt will we hand over all our technology."

"Fine, it's only a matter of time," Vex replied. "Tell your forces to stand down."

"Understood."

Zod opened the combat channel and barked orders in Kryptonian.

°°°

A/N: rain some stones on me

patreon: moziel