After finally making it home, Alex crashed hard. He slept for nearly twenty hours straight, only waking when a pounding headache dragged him back to consciousness. His body ached with exhaustion and tension, a lingering side effect of the experimental stimulant he'd taken the day before to stay awake. He'd developed it himself, and it worked maybe a little too well.
Now, with the chemical edge worn off and his nervous system still frayed, he reached for another one of his prototypes this one designed to dull pain and calm the mind. Moments after taking it, a wave of relief washed over him, and for the first time in days, he allowed himself to relax, sinking into the couch in a half-sitting, half-sprawled position.
His thoughts, however, refused to stay quiet for long.
Yesterday's meeting with Ross began to replay in his mind. The deal Ross had proposed. It was insulting, predatory even. Saying no hadn't been a decision it had been a necessity. But Alex had played along, let Ross believe he was still mulling it over. That charade gave him enough time to move forward with Plan B.
In hindsight, Alex couldn't believe he'd even considered trusting Ross. Maybe it was his idealism his belief that people, especially those with power, could be persuaded to help if the cause was noble enough. Maybe it was the way he was raised: to assume good intentions, to believe that humanity would rise to the occasion when offered a chance to better itself.
But now he knew better.
It had taken one manipulative pitch, one sugar-coated threat wrapped in corporate language, to remind him of a hard truth: in this world, there are no kind capitalists. Just opportunists smiling as they calculate your value in dollars.
Now, onto Plan B.
This plan wasn't something Alex threw together in a panic it was the result of long hours, obsessive detail, and the advantage of a rare perk he possessed: the ability to design and lead megaprojects with near-superhuman precision. The perk enhanced his planning capabilities to an almost frightening degree. With it, and the near-limitless data his AI had quietly scraped from the internet over time, he crafted a flawless counterstrike one that would make sure no one could ever exploit him again.
Phase One: Expansion.
Using his AI, Alex infiltrated government databases across the globe, creating a sprawling web of shell companies, each one owned by fabricated individuals and fictional organizations. Dozens of financial entities banks, investment groups, holding firms sprang into existence, all designed by him, all linked subtly in ways only he and his AI could trace. On paper, it looked like a legitimate, albeit complex, business empire.
Once the digital records were securely planted, he turned to the physical ones. In select cases, he orchestrated small-scale "accidents" at storage facilities fires, explosions, or strategic water damage from conveniently malfunctioning fire suppression systems. The goal was simple: force the institutions to reprint documents from their cloud backups, which had already been altered.
Of course, Alex was careful not to overuse this tactic too many incidents, and the pattern would become suspicious. But used sparingly, it was effective.
For especially secure databases, he used deepfake voice mimics to impersonate high-ranking officials, issuing verbal instructions to employees to approve and file specific documents. Sometimes he sent convincing emails, later wiped from the servers. Other times, he orchestrated fake transfers or forged clearance codes to slip files into place unnoticed.
By the end of the first week, roughly 40% of the groundwork was complete. The rest would take more time carefully paced, meticulously hidden. And just in case someone did notice something odd, Alex had layered the system with decoy files and misleading data. Even the most determined investigator wouldn't be able to tell what was real and what was smoke and mirrors.
Phase Two: Consolidation Through Confusion.
With his shell companies fully operational, Alex moved to the next phase. Through them, he orchestrated the acquisition of one biotech firm in nearly thirty different countries. Each purchase was made by a different company under his control, with no direct connection to one another at least on the surface.
Then, he planted documents across various corporate and regulatory databases, quietly suggesting that all of these biotech firms had recently been acquired by a single, multinational conglomerate. On paper, it looked like a strategic consolidation move a larger player entering the pharmaceutical arena with global reach.
Once the corporate web was in place, he issued nearly identical internal instructions to all of the biotech subsidiaries: apply for clinical trials in their respective countries to begin testing a new medicine his medicine. The applications, coming from seemingly different sources but with same parameters, flooded agencies worldwide. A pattern, yes, but buried beneath enough bureaucracy and corporate jargon that few would connect the dots.
To keep himself hidden in plain sight, Alex crafted documentation within his company in the U.S. that framed him not as the creator of the drug, but merely as a domestic distributor. The files implied that he was licensing the product from the mysterious multinational conglomerate just another cog in the system. For those curious enough to dig deeper, he added a simple breadcrumb trail: his name subtly embedded in the ownership structure of one of the financial groups tied to the parent company.
It was just enough to make the story believable and just vague enough to protect him.
Plan Three: Pressure Points.
With the infrastructure in place, Alex initiated the third and most dangerous part of his plan: leverage.
Using the mountain of sensitive data his AI had harvested, he began to apply quiet pressure on key individuals in regulatory bodies across the globe. A few well-placed threats never directly traceable, never explicit were enough to motivate action. Some were reminded of scandals they'd buried, others nudged with whispers about hidden offshore accounts, or subtle references to affairs and secrets they'd never shared.
Each nudge was calibrated, personal, and untraceable.
The beauty of it was that none of it pointed back to Alex. Every digital fingerprint, every phantom voice, every suspicious incident all of it pointed toward the fictional parent company. If anyone looked for the culprit, they'd find only a complex, faceless corporate entity, built from shadows and false paperwork.
Sure, there were always a few outliers who might suspect something was off. But suspicion without evidence meant little. And as long as the paper trail held up, it was the company's lawyers, not Alex, who would have to deal with the fallout.
At that moment, Alex felt the energy of the Celestial Forge stir within his soul.
[Temple of Solomon (Fate/Legends - Oasis of Fantasy) (400CP)
A place that has long been abandoned or, at least, a replica of the one currently in use. The Temple of Solomon is perhaps the grandest magical workshop ever to be created, one so great that it does not even exist in the mundane world. Sealed away in imaginary number space, it is only accessible to others through highly complex and difficult magical workings, though you can enter your hidden base with nothing but a thought provided you are not blocked by some means. The temple itself is quite large, with the small dimension covering several city blocks of area and the building being the size of a large mansion. Within is almost every one of Solomon's personal notes and research on magecraft and magic, along with a great deal of lore from other famous magicians of his time and from later on as well. The small dimension has been connected to a replica of Solomon's created magical circuits which empower the framework the workshop sits on, serving to provide a immense magical fuel source for any project you might wish to run within this space as you can freely draw on the amount of energy the King of Magic had while alive when you are in here. Finally, death in this realm is not permanent and it is far easier to bring back those who die when it is within this place. For your purposes, this means that dying in this temple will not count as an end to your chain. You may import an existing structure into this role.
* Solomon made the entire modern magic framework that allows for magecraft in fate]
Not enough CP to purchase.
300 CP banked.
It would've been a perfect start for Alex's magic training, having access to the Temple of Solomon. A place built for greatness, rich with knowledge and power. After a short pause to consider what he might've done with it, Alex pushed the thought aside and moved on.
Phase Four: King.
The goal was simple: conquer a nation and claim the title of ruler. Not for pride, but for the practical benefits: legal immunity, authority, and full control over infrastructure. The hard part was choosing the target. Should he take a country from his original world, or aim for a fictional one? Madripoor came to mind, a popular starting point in fanfiction, a crime-ridden island nation perfect for his plans. But this still required some consideration.
Either way, step one was the same: build a loyal army.
The source didn't matter. Maybe he'd find the Red Room like in other fanfics, or follow the Killian method, recruit wounded and discarded soldiers, rebuild them with advanced prosthetics, and quietly install systems to control them. Loyalty through design.
He'd begin small, criminal groups, low-tier syndicates. Control them with explosive failsafes, just like Waller. And just to cover his tracks, he'd plant subtle evidence pointing toward Waller. Let people assume she was behind it all.
While they chased ghosts, Alex would be building his empire.
This plan would require time to fully prepare, and the first crucial step was to establish strong public relations. For that, he needed to release the medicine to the public as soon as possible, creating a buzz and securing the groundwork for his future moves.
With the majority of his preparation now complete, it was time to formally reject Ross. Though Ross had likely already anticipated Alex's response his silence over the past few days spoke volumes it was still necessary to make it official. Alex swiftly texted his assistant, instructing them to send a final, definitive response to the general.
Wasn't it about time for Ross to make his move on the Hulk? From his current position, everything was in place for the attack, but oddly, nothing had happened yet. Fortunately, Alex had already sent the drone responsible for collecting Hulk's blood to the designated location. It was crucial to keep things moving.
Looking at the troop deployments, Alex calculated that the attack would likely begin within the week, but there was a 90% chance it would happen tomorrow. Ross couldn't wait any longer to get his hands on the Hulk. His impatience was becoming glaringly obvious, and with everything in place, it was only a matter of time before the operation kicked off.
After all this, Alex felt the energy of the Celestial Forge stir within his soul.
[Wizard's Domain (Ben 10 0.1) (400CP)
Having seen the writing on the wall or having been stolen from someone who did, you have managed to isolate a small pocket of Ledgerdomain and constructed a defensible lair within it. This is a comfortable mansion with plenty of amenities, books on simple and advanced spells from this world, and conveniently generates any spell components you happen to need for your many spells and rituals. In addition, being in an isolated dimension made of magic greatly empowers your own spellcasting and makes it both easier to cast and just a bit more powerful. You may enter and leave this little pocket plane simply by thinking about it, a portal entering or leaving it appearing nearby.]
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