Dave stood near the containment field where the Makluan Rings hovered, softly pulsing with alien light. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke.
"Makes sense. If the Makluan Rings were part of some mass-produced tech, then the Makluan race would’ve dominated the universe ages ago. But from all my recon trips and data scans... the Makluans are extinct now."
The others looked at him, slightly surprised.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you’ve been to space?"
Shuri tilted her head, intrigued. "How is it out there? In deep space?"
Dave turned toward her with a faint grin.
"Wanna take a trip to some alien planets?"
Tony shrugged. "Obviously. Who wouldn’t?"
Shuri smirked. "Of course. Just say when."
"Done. Just get suited up when I say. We’ll head out."
He turned toward a side console and casually dropped the bombshell:
"I already have a ship. Bought it last time I went on a solo mission... cleaned out a sector full of raiders. Took their best tech."
Tony blinked. "Wait, you bought a spaceship?"
"Technically... I took it. From a dead race of interdimensional parasites. Called themselves the Dark Levismothers."
"I killed them all. Ship’s mine now."
Dave leaned back, arms crossed as he spoke calmly.
"Natasha must’ve told you about it—back when she was went with me as i raomed the space with Thor and other Asgardians, We encountered those space pirates near Asgardian sectors. They attacked us."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Didn’t end well for them. One dimensional blast—and their entire hive collapsed. Their ship became mine."
It sounded casual coming from him. Like claiming a prize from a weekend hunt.
"Anyway," Dave continued, waving a hand. "We’ll wait on the space trip. First, we need to look down on the matter of the Ten Rings."
Steve nodded. "Right. Priorities."
Shuri spoke up thoughtfully.
"Still... we should visit the Makluan homeworld eventually. If it’s still intact—even in ruins—we might learn how the rings were originally formed. Maybe even find more."
Tony looked intrigued. Bruce, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
"I’ll start running scans across deep space databases. If there’s even a trace of Makluan architecture or residual quantum signals, we’ll find it."
He added quietly, more to himself,
"Also... if we can unlock Makluan tech, I might be able to finally suppress the Hulk fully. Maybe even remove him."
Dave shook his head immediately.
"You’re wrong, Bruce. Instead of trying to get rid of him—you should be trying to understand him. You’re one of the smartest minds alive. Combine that with Hulk’s power? You’re not a monster—you’re an evolution."
Bruce looked away, silent again. But Tony leaned toward Shuri, a spark of inspiration forming in his eyes.
"Wait a second... if we stabilize both minds fully—Banner and Hulk—we could create the perfect hybrid. Brain and brawn in one."
Shuri smiled. "Smart Hulk."
Dave nodded in approval.
"Exactly. But don’t forget—the gamma core didn’t create Hulk. It just unlocked him. Hulk was always a part of you, Bruce. He’s not your curse. He’s your shadow."
Bruce slowly nodded, processing.
"One body. All the muscles. All the brains."
The conference room doors hissed open.
A woman stepped in—tall, sharp-featured, dressed in a tailored deep-gray tactical suit with a glowing Project Unity insignia on her shoulder. She moved with elegance but radiated quiet authority. Her name was Dudely Osme, a senior operative personally appointed by Aizen to oversee external diplomacy and internal intelligence.
Shuri looked up from her console. Tony leaned back, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
Dave turned slightly but said nothing.
Aizen, already standing near the shadows of the room, gave a small nod as Dudely walked in.
"She’s with us," Aizen said calmly. "But what she brings may not be."
Dudely paused at the center of the table and tapped her datapad. A hologram lit up, showing a rotating model of Earth with ten highlighted nations glowing in gold.
"The world leaders have called an emergency summit," she announced. "Their topic: the Ten Rings."
Everyone in the room went quiet.
"Several high-ranking governments believe the rings should be placed under the control of the top ten global powers. Their logic? National defense, stability, and historic entitlement."
Steve’s jaw tensed. "They want to militarize the rings."
Tony let out a slow whistle. "Well, that didn’t take long."
Dudely continued without emotion.
"They’ve sent a formal request to Project Unity—backed by 123 ambassadors and eight defense coalitions. They want the Ten Rings handed over... immediately."
"Specifically, one ring each to:
the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, India, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Egypt."
A moment of heavy silence followed. Then:
"No," Dave said, voice flat.
Aizen folded his arms behind his back, a shadow of amusement in his eyes.
"They’re so predictable."
Bruce looked up, concern etched on his face. "If we refuse outright, we risk being painted as tyrants. Dictators. Warmongers."
Shuri added, "They could try to seize the tower. Or worse—launch coordinated attacks."
Dudely Osme’s expression didn’t change.
"They’ve already begun staging operatives in orbit and near Unity-aligned territories."
Steve stood up, fists clenched. "They’re willing to start a war over power they don’t even understand."
Dave stepped forward and looked directly at Dudely.
"Did Aizen approve this summit?"
"He knew it would come," Dudely replied. "He let it happen to see who among them would reveal their true nature."
A hologram behind her showed intercepted chatter—some world leaders plotting to reverse-engineer the rings, others seeking to assassinate Dave, Aizen, or even Trish.
Tony scoffed. "Yeah... peacekeepers, my ass."
Dave’s voice dropped to a dangerous calm.
Dave folded his arms, his gaze sharpening as he looked toward Dudely.
"Which country is pushing for the rings the most?"
Dudely’s eyes flicked to her datapad before replying calmly.
"The strongest pressure is coming from the United States and China. Both have mobilized diplomatic pressure and quietly begun strategic deployments around Unity territory. The others—France, Russia, India, and so on—are aligning behind them, saying that as ’top global powers,’ their leaders deserve one ring each."
She raised an eyebrow slightly. "It’s less about balance, more about maintaing their Status. They fear being left behind."
Dave exhaled slowly, then gave a short nod.
"Very well. Then I guess it’s time I paid them a visit."
Everyone in the room paused.
Steve looked up. "Alone?"
Dave turned, calm and resolute.
"Yes. This won’t be a fight. Not yet. But they need to see me—really see me—and understand exactly what they’re trying to claim."
Shuri frowned. "If you step into their ground, they’ll either try to trap you or test you."
Tony chuckled under his breath. "You’ve got that look again. The ’I’m about to scare the hell out of the planet’ look."
Aizen, who had remained silent, finally spoke—voice smooth and dark.
"Let them glimpse the weight of what they’re asking to control. Perhaps then... they’ll remember the value of humility."
if you like my fanfic, and want to support me and read advance chaps, checkout my fanfic on :-
There are regular updates too.