Marvel's Villainous Gacha 70 (Patreon)

After the mess with Extremis, his biggest challenge was to search for information about the Reality Stone. Unfortunately, he failed to make even the slightest progress. Admittedly, he already knew the best place to learn about it, but currently, they were on high alert due to recent attack, and he didn’t want to try his luck sneaking in.

It meant he had to test some of the other locations. Xandar made the best target.

Nova Empire was a major power, and among the major powers, it was by far the best. They would have even made good allies if they were extremely protectionist, always focusing on protecting their borders rather than expanding, either militarily or diplomatically.

He didn’t blame them. He checked their history. Ultimately, the only reason Xandar was able to grow to that size was because the other two major powers in the region, Skulls and Kree, had been locked in an endless war, allowing them to get a relatively fair peace agreement, which they used to build a defensive bulwark around their domain.

It made sense for their situation, but it came with a cost. It removed their strategic initiative.

As for whether they could resist the Kree or Skrulls if their battle ever stopped, it was more difficult to judge. The information he had was limited to public sources and random gossip, which was hardly a fair representation of cutting edge military power. To learn that, he needed to hack their most important mainframes, which was something he couldn’t do even with everything he had.

Hacking interstellar empires relying on unknown technology wasn’t the same.

But, while technological hacking was out of the question, practical hacking wasn’t the same. Xandar was a relatively open planet for anyone with enough wealth, which he possessed enough to easily pass as a wealthy tourist.

It was why, after he had stopped by the empty planet, overseeing their training for another day, before he took a trip to Xandar. Luckily, accessing Xandar as a civilian proved even easier than he expected, since the cloaking of his mobile station, enhanced by Asgardian tech, avoided detection.

He wasn’t sure if that would be true if the station wasn’t sitting at the edge of the system, but he didn’t need to test that.

Gates were just that amazing.

Xandar itself was an amazing planet. It was like a nicer, shinier Manhattan, only covering half the planet. It had both the scale and the activity.

Technically, Asgard had been far more majestic, but unlike Asgard, Xandar wasn’t in the process of cultural death. Everywhere he looked, there was motion and progress.

And, such movement was more than happy to absorb Trimma, a young heir who had just got his hands on his inheritance and was ready to prove himself as a member of high society.

In other words, the perfect mark, which was why he used that disguise. Rich and gullible was a good target to be dragged around bars and casinos.

It worked because he managed to end up in the same bar at a casino, sitting next to a military officer. Their equivalent for a major, in full uniform, which contrasted with a relatively youthful face.

His whole presence shouted nepo hire, and his depression suggested he had just lost a lot of money.

Michael didn’t talk to him directly, but sat at the next table, ordered a very expensive drink, enough to buy a second-hand spaceship, as if he was trying to suppress his sorrows.

“Bad night?” the man asked.

“Like you can’t imagine,” Michael responded. “Cards hated me tonight.”

“Me neither,” the guy responded. “How much?”

“Eight hundred thousand units,” Michael said.

“Ouch, that must have hurt.”

Michael shrugged. “I mean, somewhat. I’m more annoyed with their smug attitude. I’ll show them tomorrow.” He paused for a while. “I’m Trimma.”

“Berher,” the Xandarian Major responded.

He didn’t start questioning Berher immediately. Instead, they chatted, listening Berher about how much of a chore to be coming from a famous military line, that somehow, it prevented him from becoming a hero like he was destined.

He was merely spoiled, which was exatly why he was there. For the next few hours, they talked while he bought some very expensive drinks while questioning Berher about his ‘amazing’ military career, who spilled military secrets with no regard to operational security.

At the same time, he activated a device to conceal what they were talking about. He didn’t want them to be overheard.

Only when Berher was softened, he took the next step. A little green energy, targeting Berher at an angle no camera would catch, hidden behind a green bottle. It was a subtle mind-control enchantment, one that he had learned from Asgard.

Seidr was very useful for mental manipulation and illusion.

Of course, he was a beginner even with his advantages, hence all the preparation he put in. It didn’t exactly compel him to speak. It just lowered his caution even further.

“I can’t believe we’re scared of chasing Ronan while he’s out there, attacking our colonies,” he grumbled.

“Ronan?” Michael asked, acting obvious even though he knew about him. Ronan the Accuser was one of the highest-ranked Kree in the galaxy, so when he openly defected from the Kree Empire, it made news everywhere.

However, his location or objectives weren’t the same. They were military secrets.

“A monster, even by Kree standards. Yet, rather than hunting him like a dog, we’re hiding behind our walls.”

Michael didn’t point out the obvious reasons, but instead talked, learning some important facts. Like Ronan’s fleet movements … or the fact that he was allied with Thanos, even to the point of assigning two of his adopted children to the fleet.

Unfortunately, that was all the information Berher had on the topic, including the details about those children. Technically, he wasn’t even qualified to know about the link between Thanos and Ronan. He must have heard from his family members.

The same went for Ronan’s fleet movements, which he was happy to reveal just to prove how amazing he was.

After leaving the bar, he immediately focused on researching Ronan. He didn’t care that much about Ronan himself, but Thanos’ adopted child represented an opportunity he couldn’t miss.

It was the best way for him to learn why Thanos targeted Earth.

Luckily, getting a better understanding of Ronan’s movements hadn’t been that hard. Xander had a lot of mercenaries, and now that he knew exactly what to buy, learning the planets Ronan had attacked last.

He also learned more about Ronan and his merciless massacres, which didn’t endear Ronan to him. Unfortunately, he had gotten his hands on some of Ronan’s displays. He was too formidable to be killed easily.

One on one, he was confident, but Ronan had a respectable fleet, which included an Accuser Warship, something he wasn’t willing to try his luck against even after the most recent upgrades.

Fighting against Ronan might be a challenge he was not ready for, but shadowing his fleet wasn’t so, his unique ability to use wormholes far more than others could give him a significant advantage.

Luckily, the identities of Thanos’ adopted children were not a big secret. Apparently, Thanos had dozens of known adopted children, mostly used as assassins and commanders as part of his genocidal bent.

The two that had been assigned to Ronan were known as Gamora and Nebula, two famous assassins.

He had no idea why Thanos and Ronan was aligned other than a general attitude toward massacres, but he could learn. The answer lay with either Nebula or Gamora. The challenge was to capture them.

Luckily, an opportunity appeared soon. Nebula left Ronan's flagship on a solo mission, riding a sleek spaceship with cloaking. He had no idea about her mission, but he merely followed her for the first two jumps, concealed.

He hit when she was preparing for her third jump. He didn’t have to do much. He just hid his presence behind an illusion, her sensors easily diverted. It was a standard Kree ship, which wasn’t designed to operate away from the fleet, cloaking features being a later addition made it even weaker.

He entered the ship, finding Nebula in the cockpit, alarmed by the sudden death of her systems. The moment he entered, she lashed forward. Her speed and deadliness were incredible. She was likely the greatest threat he ever faced, comparable to how deadly Natasha would be with even better enhancements.

Unfortunately for Nebula, he didn’t bother fighting. He just hit her with his ability Radio Waves, disabling the energy source of her implants. Admittedly, it was not an easy process, as those implants were works of art, hardened against electronic interference. Without Computer or Energy Tinker, he wouldn’t have succeeded even with his Ability.

It was a bad matchup … for her. She fell on the ground, and just to be on the safe side, he hit her with a taser.

However, that wasn’t all he did. He reactivated the ship, quickly building an automated road, even preparing some fake messages from Nebula, the kind that would say she came across a Kree patrol, only to be shot down.

Since Ronan was supposed to be a Kree rebel, it made sense.

To make it believable, he even created a few fake emitters to replicate Nebula’s implants.

After that, he brought her to his mobile station, jumping until he was in the middle of nowhere, placed her in a restrained seat, and awakened her, her implants still inactive. He made sure to wear a dark cloak before he woke her up. He wasn’t afraid of showing his face, but if she believed he did, it would make it easier for her to swallow his lies about eventually letting her go.

“Now, Nebula, let’s talk,” he started as she woke up. He was checking her vitals, but he frowned. For a woman who was captured and immobilized, she was surprisingly calm.

"Whoever you are, you have just made a big mistake," she said, her voice flat and cold.

“Why? Because I took Ronan’s latest favorite pet assassin, or because I kidnapped Thanos’ precious daughter—“ he started, only to be interrupted by a sudden growl. When he mentioned Ronan, her feelings were mostly disdain, but her anger the moment he mentioned Thanos surprised him.

It felt loaded.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the baseline to know whether she was being truthful, or it was a nice bluff. But, he decided to play along.

“Not a fan of Thanos as well?” he asked, acting surprised when she just grunted. “Well, then this might go easier than expected,” he said, dropping his hood, revealing his face. She didn’t react. “We attacked you because we need information on Thanos.”

“Good luck with that,” she growled.

“Look, if you hate him, you should be happy with the opportunity to make his life harder.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s unstoppable,” Nebula said. “And, I have been in the business long enough to know the moment I give everything, I’ll be dealt with.”

He paused, radiating earnestness, his good looks coming in useful, especially one of his older traits allowed him to earn people’s trust easier. Admittedly, he didn’t know whether it would work, but it was a good way to start. If that didn’t work, he could always pump her full of chemicals and use magic to question her.

But, that was a last resort, mostly because such an approach would provide compromised information.

“Alright, I’ll give you the location of Thanos’ nearest two bases. Destroy them, and we’ll talk.”

“Fine, but I also want to learn what Ronan is searching for. I can’t risk him popping up at an opportune time.”

She scoffed. “If you’re afraid of Ronan, you’ve already lost.”

“I thought you are an assassin,” he deliberately angered her.

“The best,” she spat out.

“Do I need to teach you the merits of waiting for the best time before striking?”

She grumbled, but that was the extent of her reaction. “I’m here to help Ronan find an ancient artifact. An orb. When Ronan presents the orb to my father, he will be rewarded with an army strong enough to destroy Xandar.”

He did his best to hide his reaction. The matter-of-fact tone she delivered suggested that Thanos was not only strong enough to destroy the capital of Nova Empire, but it could be done by a small part of his army.

That was bad news. He had known Thanos was dangerous, but he always attributed it to his general mad approach rather than the power he could wield. The Nova Empire was weaker than the Kree or Skrull, but only by a small margin.

He didn’t ask any qualifying questions, not wanting to reveal just how little he knew about Thanos.

“And, what does that artifact to,” he asked instead. It was not the priority, but it was reasonable for him to focus on it .

“It’s merely a holder. It holds an artifact called the Power Stone,” she said.

It took all he had to suppress his reaction. He would have ignored it if it hadn’t been for one important thing. His achievement about the Reality Stone. “The Power Stone, sounds fancy,” he commented. “What is that?”

She sighed. “I don’t know much. We’re not trusted enough to be given the full picture. I just know that it’s some kind of mysterious artifact, and apparently it has no known limit while providing energy. It’s also supposed to be impossible to control, but…”

“Since Thanos is searching for it, he must have a way to use it,” he said.

“Presumably. He didn’t share that with us,” she spat out.

“What about the other stones?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I only know that there’s six of them, and they are called Infinity Stones. I don’t know what the other five even are. Unfortunately, my father doesn’t reveal anything that’s not critical.”

“Not a trusting fellow, then,” he teased, amused at Nebula’s surprised snort.

She was an interesting woman, calling Thanos her father despite hatred radiating off her every repeat. He was getting convinced that her hate was real; which also meant that Thanos was aware of it as well.

As for why Thanos trusted her to send her on missions despite that, it was difficult to guess. He would have suspected a double-bluff, a way to spread fake intel, as that would have been rational.

He couldn’t assume his enemies act rationally, especially not one called Mad Titan, not while he went around killing half the population of every planet. There was every chance that he enjoyed Nebula’s hapless anger, confident that it could never hurt him.

As for why Nebula hated him, he didn’t ask any questions. Not yet.

“I have given you the information you want; what do you want to do next?” she asked.

“Next, we’re going to travel one of the bases you have provided, and we’ll check to confirm that the information you provided is reliable. We’ll talk later,” he said. Then, he pressed a button, and her bindings opened. “Something to make sure you’re comfortable,” he said. “Anything else you need? Any preference for food?”

“No,” she said. “As long as it’s nutritious, I don’t care.”

He nodded, and left her alone. He could see that she wasn’t one for small talk. His mind turned to the next important thing, especially if what she said was true. Thanos wanted to collect all six Infinity stones, probably for something measurably monstrous, but he didn’t need to know exactly why Thanos was searching for them.

One of the six was bonded to Jane, and that was enough of a reason to sabotage his search.

“At least it explains why he had attacked Earth. He must have been searching for the Reality Stone,” he said to himself, happy that he had the answer for it.

&&&

A day later, he entered Nebula’s room. She was in her seat, carefully sharpening a blade, which he allowed her to have as a peaceful offering. “Want to watch the fireworks?” he said.

“Fireworks,” she started, then her eyes widened. “Are you going to destroy the base?”

“Yes. We confirmed that there’s nothing of value, so take it as our way of showing we’re serious,” he said. She nodded, and he led her toward the corridor. Occasionally, she caught a glimpse of other people, though they were merely holograms, giving her the impression that the station had more people.

The fact that she hated Thanos didn’t mean she could be trusted with his secrets.

Soon, he brought her to a small observation deck. She looked out, and he gave the mental order to trigger the destruction. No attack left his ship. Instead, when he sneaked in, he had questioned the commander before sabotaging the power systems, retreating just as easily.

Unfortunately, the commander knew nothing really useful. The same went for the computer systems. Unlike most other organizations, Thanos and his army didn’t rely on digital storage that much.

It was smart, but also inconvenient for him.

The nuclear core went critical, destroying the base.

“You know your organization made a dangerous enemy, right?” she said, her done deliberately casual. She was testing him.

He shrugged. “It’s Thanos who made an enemy of us first. And, I much rather face him directly rather than running like rats,” he said. “Since he seems to kill us, that’s the best option.”

She snorted. “Big words for a coward who had to disable my implants to defeat me.”

He smirked, matching her challenge. He could tell that she saw the world through the lens of combat, and beating her was the easiest way to ‘prove’ himself in her eyes. “That’s because I didn’t want to damage that garbage spaceship. Don’t tell me you believe you can beat me in the ring.”

“Of course I can,” she said. “I’m the greatest assassin in the universe.”

“Empty words unless you’re willing to face me in a fair fight,” he said. “Follow me to the gym.”

She did, releasing a happy smile as he reactivated her implants, though still shielded from sending and receiving external messages.

He wondered how he measured up against an interstellar assassin.