Family System: Chapter 44

Seeing the energy cubes, Vex suddenly remembered something…

Dr. Erik Selvig had been invited by Fury to work on weaponizing the Tesseract.

So…

Should he warn them?

Of course not

If they didn’t keep activating the Tesseract, how would Loki be able to locate it and deliver it right to him?

In the end, it would all be his anyway.

He closed the briefcase, and a system notification popped up.

[Congratulations, Host, for acquiring a crate of "Space Stone Energy Cubes," enhancing the strength of your family. Reward: "Minor Increase in Mental Power."]

Guaranteed reward. As expected, this stuff wasn’t that useful.

Just as Vex was about to leave…

Hill took half a step closer, close enough for him to feel her warmth.

“I have a few questions. Could I ask you for some clarification, Mr. Vex?” Hill asked softly.

Vex understood immediately—this was a seduction tactic, wasn’t it?

Nice move, Fury, sending someone like her!

And she was exactly his type!

However…

Vex lifted a hand and wrapped his arm around Hill's waist—it felt nice.

“Sure, but let’s discuss it somewhere else.”

Whoosh—

They teleported away.

Fury’s eye twitched; he had the sense that his plan had completely backfired.

Looking back at Optimus Prime, he felt uneasy, but he couldn’t show weakness now

Meanwhile, Vex appeared on a rooftop with Hill in his arms. She immediately pushed him away.

“Let’s go back now." she demanded.

“Oh? Do you know who I am?” Vex brushed off his clothes and smiled. “If you plan to use seduction, you’d better be prepared to be devoured. Are you?”

Hill composed herself, her eyes cold as she calmly regarded Vex.

“If you help S.H.I.E.L.D. win these negotiations, I’m willing.”

That emotionless tone…

Using his telepathic abilities, Vex effortlessly listened in on her thoughts.

It’s just a transaction, nothing more.

Vex instantly lost interest, the smile vanishing from his face.

“I, Vex, never force women. If you’re not into it, then forget it.”

“Wait!” Hill forced a professional smile. “I’m not resisting! It’s just that I…”

Vex waved dismissively, not bothering to listen.

“Before you guys arrived, I’d already worked out a deal. They won’t attack Fury.”

With that, he disappeared in a flash.

Hill stood there, face cold again, her mind racing with thoughts she didn’t express.

Back at the scene, Ratchet handed a hard drive to Fury.

It seemed the transaction was complete.

“Where’s Hill?” Fury asked nervously. “Where did she go?”

“She failed to seduce me and is now reflecting on the rooftop,” Vex replied casually. “Anyway, you’ve got your benefits. We’re heading to get the item now. Handle the rest yourself.”

Vex opened his Gate of Babylon and glanced at Optimus Prime.

They obediently walked in.

“Wait! What are you—”

*Whoosh—*

Vex was gone without a trace, completely ignoring Fury.

Fury turned to Coulson, who quickly made a phone call.

A few seconds later…

“They’ve appeared at the Hoover Dam with those Cybertronian robots… they know where the AllSpark is stored!”

Fury was left speechless.

It turns out…

Vex didn’t need them at all to get the AllSpark. He just let them tag along to collect some perks!

As the top spy, Fury didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.

But he had to admit…

His evaluation of Vex had gone up a few notches.

“Maybe…”

“We should encourage more Earth women to form alliances with him.”

“He might be another Superman, someone we can use to Earth’s advantage!”

—-—

At the Hoover Dam entrance, Fury didn’t keep Vex and the others waiting long. Soon enough, the security was lifted, and a middle-aged man in a suit came running out.

He stared at Optimus Prime and the others with wild excitement, muttering under his breath.

“There really are more of them!”

“They’re alive!”

“Amazing!”

…

After his brief moment of excitement, the man quickly composed himself.

“Greetings, extraterrestrial friends. My name is Seymour Simmons, a Level 7 agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in charge of Sector 7 security.”

“By Director Fury’s orders, I’m here to take you to…”

Vex raised a hand to cut him off, looking toward the distant sky.

An F-15 Eagle fighter jet was speeding toward them.

Simmons was confused. Why was a fighter jet approaching?

He was about to radio his superiors when…

Vex opened his Gate and summoned a Telekinetic Floating Cannon.

*Boom!*

Even though the fighter jet had attempted evasive maneuvers, it was still blown to pieces like fireworks.

“What are you doing?!” Simmons shouted. “That was—”

“That was Starscream,” Optimus Prime said with certainty. “The second-in-command of the Decepticons and Megatron’s lieutenant.”

He glanced warily at Vex’s floating cannon. Starscream was notoriously difficult to deal with, yet this weapon had taken him out in one shot…

“The obstruction’s been dealt with. Let’s go,” Vex said, heading toward the dam.

Optimus Prime and the others transformed into vehicles and followed.

Jazz, being considerate, gave a stunned Simmons a ride.

After checking with his superiors, Simmons confirmed that no fighter jets had been dispatched.

That’s when he realized something.

“No other meteorites have fallen recently, so that ‘Starscream’ must have been hiding on Earth this whole time?” Simmons asked incredulously.

“Probably,” Vex replied nonchalantly. “You guys are constantly broadcasting signals into space, so it’s no wonder Earth attracts attention.”

Simmons opened his mouth to say something but found himself at a loss.

So…

The Transformers had been on Earth all along, and they just hadn’t noticed?

Wait!

“Was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s order to recall Voyager 1 and 2 also related to you?”

Vex didn’t bother responding and walked ahead.

Soon, the space opened up, revealing a massive chamber.

In front of them was an enormous cube with intricate, mysterious patterns that resembled integrated circuits.

“It’s the AllSpark!” Optimus Prime exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve finally found you! Cybertron’s glory will be restored!”

The other Autobots were equally overjoyed!

Their excitement…

It reminded Simmons of how Zod’s group had acted not too long ago.

Were they planning to revive their planet on Earth again?

But after a glance at Vex, Simmons felt reassured.

With Earth’s savior leading the way and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s approval, his worries seemed unfounded.

Optimus Prime approached the massive cube and placed his hand on its surface.

A flash of electricity surged through the cube.

It seemed to come to life, transforming into a giant Rubik’s Cube and starting to fold and shrink.

It kept shrinking until it was the size of a head, resting in Optimus Prime’s hand.

Then…

Optimus Prime looked at Vex with hesitation.

“Mr. Vex, the AllSpark is nearly indestructible. How should we go about splitting it in half for you?”

“That’s simple. Just hand it over,” Vex said.