Marvel Magic Case Files

"What does the Malik family want?" Even after years of paperwork in an office, General Hale still used the straightforwardness expected of someone in the military as a disguise, bypassing Gideon Malik's negotiation trap. "I don't think I have anything the Malik family needs. There must be people in the Pentagon with higher ranks than me, right? Why should you give me this benefit?"

“I know you used to follow the younger generation, but now Alexander Pierce is dead, Dr. Whitehall is dead, and there are no more disagreements between us. Business is business, General Hale. Just shouting slogans won't give us this much power.” Gideon Malik offered a polite, official statement, but it didn't convince General Hale. She believed these descendants of ancient families had no idea of ​​the hardships they, the younger generation, had endured in the youth academy, let alone the price she had paid to climb up the ranks. “Perhaps in your eyes we are all stubborn relicts, but the truth is, only the younger generation values ​​relationships; we, the ancient families, are more eager to absorb fresh blood. We don't mind entrusting you with the task of inspecting military cybernetic bodies and super soldiers because we believe in your abilities.”

General Hale nodded without refuting.

"Of course, we also need some help."

"They've finally shown their true colors. I bet you're all getting impatient," General Hale thought to herself. She raised her glass to hide her smile. "I'd be happy to help," she said, "but I need the details."

Gideon Malik feigned difficulty. He first glanced at Stephanie, and only after his daughter nodded did he adopt a helpless expression. "What I'm about to say will certainly be considered madness if it gets out. But the truth is, long before the Battle of New York, humanity had contact with extraterrestrials."

General Hale was so surprised he almost dropped his wine glass.

She instantly thought of the device she had hidden.

She had used that device to contact an alien force calling itself the "Alliance," a multi-racial conglomerate centered around the Kree. This force claimed that Earth was about to face a full-scale invasion, and that the Chitauri invasion was merely a prelude, a test by the vanguard of the dark overlord Thanos. They promised to defend Earth from this invasion, on the condition that she hand over Earth's resources to the "Alliance," and that she would become the ruler of Earth with the "Alliance's" support. It was a worthwhile deal.

"Did he discover my secret? No, if they knew, they wouldn't be so lenient. These ancient families would definitely snatch this opportunity from me. Those greedy old dogs. Calm down, listen to what they have to say." She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions and appear shocked by the secret Gideon Malik had revealed.

"I know this is shocking, but this is definitely not some nonsense from Area 51." After a long silence, before General Hale grew impatient but managed to control his emotions due to the disparity in their status, Gideon Malik finally recounted the history of the Kree's arrival on Earth. However, he gave a simplified version, omitting much of the content. Furthermore, the story the Emperor had told him had also been altered, making it impossible for General Hale to know the full story.

“That’s right. The Malik family’s bloodline can be traced back to a close advisor to the Hydra, the Inhuman king of the Stone Age. The most recent blood sacrifice offered to the Hydra was by my brother.” He feigned grief, making no mention of the Malik family’s history of cheating in rituals. “The Hydra is an Inhuman king created by the Kree, a controller used to control the Inhumans, a biological terminal trapped on an alien planet that can release an endless stream of nanobots. As long as there is still organic matter on a planet that can be devoured, the Hydra will not fail. I know this because I have seen the Hydra, and I have seen the alien civilization that was completely devoured by the Hydra, and the wasteland planet left behind by that civilization.”

General Hale took a few sips of wine and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"The so-called Aesir are just aliens who have descended to Earth, and it's not surprising that Hydra are alien super soldiers of the Kree." She followed Gideon Malik's lead and asked, "How did you meet the Hydra? Did the Hydra come to Earth? If so, why haven't we discovered its existence yet? From your description, the Hydra doesn't seem like an easy god to deal with."

“Not like the Chitauri or the Asgardians. The Hydra is indeed on Earth, but it was captured; it lost its freedom,” Gideon Malik said. “You might wonder why the Malik family would cooperate with the tyrant of the Balkans. That’s why. He led an army to another planet and captured the Hydra. A monster capable of easily destroying a world was no match for him, and he promised to always reserve a place for the Malik family on the throne. There is no power in this world that can stop him, not even Hale, not even the Avengers.”

General Hale then turned his gaze to Stephanie Malik, who gave him a proud smile.

"The Pentagon has conducted a comprehensive assessment of that tyrant's capabilities." General Hale took a deep breath. "It now appears that Pentagon officials were far too optimistic."

"The Emperor's ambitions won't be confined to Earth. You may also know about the artificial celestial bodies observed on the Moon by various countries' satellites not long ago. That was an attack by the Emperor's army against alien forces in the Blue Zone of the Moon, after which shipyards, launch sites, and colonies will be established there. However, alien threats still exist around us. Reliable intelligence indicates that there is a Kree stealth ship in Earth's orbit, carrying Kree special operations units. Compared to the Blue Zone, that stealth ship carries fewer combat troops, and due to related traditions, that ritualistic combat unit is known within the Kree Empire as the 'Headhunters,'" Gideon Malik said pointedly. "The Pentagon's poor performance in the Battle of New York became a laughing stock worldwide. If they can prove themselves in a small-scale alien invasion, the Pentagon will be very grateful to whoever makes the contribution."

"The alien corpse has high strategic value," General Hale maintained her composure. "It's a precious gift for anyone." She didn't know where Gideon Malik's information came from; perhaps it was provided by that tyrant, or perhaps the origins and power of Hydra were not as simple as Gideon Malik claimed, or perhaps the connection between Hydra and the Kree had never ceased. A more terrifying thought crossed her mind. Perhaps the Emperor and Hydra had already been in contact with the "Alliance," or perhaps she had already been drawn into the political vortex of the Kree Empire, and there was conflict between the "Alliance" and the Kree forces connected to Hydra.

Overwhelmed by a multitude of thoughts, General Hale was momentarily flustered.

She thought she had climbed to a high position and could see the whole picture of world politics, but she never expected that the hunters hiding behind the scenes were far more than just Hydra, and their influence extended far beyond the realm of Earth's politics. In comparison, the oil giants, military-industrial complexes, and Wall Street tycoons on Earth, still forming alliances and fighting each other for profit, seemed so short-sighted and disgusting.

"That tyrant... the emperor was willing to let the Pentagon obtain alien corpses?"

"The Emperor understands how to share profits with allies, and he also possesses a mature research and genetic engineering team. Furthermore, he's willing to fund a biotechnology company and a military prosthetics company. All of Dr. Whitehall's technological reserves belong to him, and all that's left of Dr. Whitehall is his brain floating in a jar. We all know what Dr. Whitehall did to you, don't we?"

Gideon Malik winked playfully, which further confirmed General Hale's suspicions: the "Alliance" she had contacted might be at odds with the Kree Empire, which had ties to the Malik family. She hadn't expected Gideon Malik to be so relaxed; it was simply because the old man, since his rejuvenation surgery, had habitually begun to unleash his youthful charm again. General Hale had only accepted Dr. Whitehall's eugenics program to climb the ranks, conceiving Ruby through in-vitro fertilization—a source of unspeakable pain for the proud and arrogant General Hale. She suspected the Malik family already knew of her connection to the "Alliance," but she couldn't reveal it directly and let them confirm her suspicions.

"The Emperor values ​​you highly, General Hale. You and your daughter will receive resources unimaginable in the past. Perhaps I should, on behalf of the Emperor, welcome the birth of a new family?"

Watching General Hale leave the estate in his limousine with a detailed catalog of super soldiers and military cybernetic products, Gideon Malik turned around. "Is that enough? What's the point of all this?" he asked Stephanie. Although Stephanie had acted like a figurehead throughout the conversation, she was actually the one leading it. The conversation had two main objectives, one of which was persuading General Hale to convince the White House, on behalf of the Pentagon, to accept the super soldier program. "I really don't understand why the Emperor would insist on mentioning the Kree in the conversation."

"The Emperor suspects General Hale of colluding with the Kree," Stephanie said. "This serves as a warning."

"I don't see this as a warning," Gideon Malik said, frowning.

"General Hale has an information gap with the Kree. Even the smartest person can't fully utilize their wisdom without intelligence," Stephanie said. "The Emperor doesn't mind that General Hale has her own ambitions; he believes she might be cooperating with the Kree due to miscalculation. We've successfully sown discord between her and the Kree. If the Kree try to attack her, we can eliminate their stealth ships and special forces in orbit, and also find out how General Hale communicates with the Kree."

"Ruby." Gideon Malik thought of General Hale's 16-year-old daughter with her shimmering blonde hair. He had to admit, Dr. Whitehall's eugenics program was brilliant, at least in terms of human aesthetics. "I thought the Emperor was only interested in that girl because he liked her."

“He’s neither a Jewish tycoon nor a white politician.” Stephanie rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction, though no one could pinpoint why. “This conversation was supposed to be led by the Emperor, but now I just hope he’ll agree to the terms we’ve agreed to.”

"He's a competent politician. The Advanced Threat Control Unit (ATCU) is now under his control; what more could he want? Listen, Stephanie, the Malik family was the most powerful family in Hydra when you were born, but their status wasn't always so exalted; family power waxes and wanes. My grandfather once jumped to his death to pay off debts and force other families to concede, and my father, Wilfred, was once destitute and worked in underground taverns during Prohibition." Gideon Malik narrowed his eyes, malice seeping into his words. "I know very well what happens to an ancient family that loses its power. He's already made the Lister family our adversary. If we're going to ensure the Malik family enjoys everything they have now forever, we must give the Supreme Authority sufficient benefits."

“You rarely talk about your grandfather,” Stephanie said. “I remember he was involved in the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

To counter the rapidly rising Hydra elite, the ancient family chose Wilfred Malik, Gideon Malik's father, to undertake a mission in 1931: to transport an early version of the Super Soldier Serum to Germany. However, Dr. Erkins' early version of the Super Soldier Serum was not developed in Germany, but in the United States, and the technology used was not entirely from Dr. Erkins himself. After the outbreak of World War II, Wilfred Malik, as a representative, persuaded the US government to aid Europe and cover up intelligence regarding the Pearl Harbor attack. He used this opportunity to consolidate the connections and resources that his father had built before his suicide. After the war, Wilfred Malik, leveraging the opportunity to combat the young Hydra elite in Europe, led other families to participate in S.H.I.E.L.D., founded by Howard Stark, executing Operation Paperclip, recovering the assets of the young elite, joining Operation Marshall, and using Wall Street and the military-industrial complex to re-expand the Malik family's influence in Europe.

"His experiences are bizarre, kid. Even he's unwilling to tell me everything."

Gideon Malik began to doubt that the stories his father told him and Nathaniel (Gideon's brother) weren't just fantastical bedtime stories. After all, what he was experiencing now was certainly more bizarre than anything his father had ever seen or heard in his life; perhaps the future people and robots in those stories were real. But then he thought the idea was ridiculous—who would take bedtime stories seriously…wait. Gideon Malik's expression changed drastically; he felt his memory was failing him.

"Was my father, Wilfred Malik, buried in 1970?"

“That’s right,” Stephanie said. “That’s what it’s written in the history books. He was given a state funeral as a high-ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D..”

“I remember the year after my father died, Nathaniel—your uncle—and I participated in the sacrificial ceremony. He also died in 1970. But why… do I have memories of him and my father being alive after 1970?” Gideon Malik took a breath. “Perhaps it’s because I’m getting old, and I’ve actually started to imagine what Nathaniel would look like with a beard.”

He never told Stephanie that young, naive Nathaniel, after being told the family secret by Dr. Whitehall (or rather, Dr. Reinhardt) at the funeral, decided not to cheat during the ceremony, but out of fear, he put the chipped white pebble into the bag. It was a nightmare he could never face. Only when he learned that the Hydra could access the memories of those it devoured did he desperately plead with the Emperor to interrogate the Hydra and obtain his brother's last memories from that monster.

Stephanie stepped forward and gently patted his back.

"We can have another rejuvenation surgery. You will become young again, Father."