Marvel: The Ultimate Superman-Chapter 163. Dormammu

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Nolan gave Skye one last glance before stepping through the portal.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. was officially in play now, his long-term plans would need some adjustments.

Back at the lab, the segmented armor detached from his body, reforming neatly inside a high-tech display case. As it clicked into place, Nolan called out:

"Connors. Prep the surgical bay. We're dissecting these five cultists. I want data."

He hadn't brought them back out of mercy.

They were research material.

After probing their minds and extracting what he needed, he planned to dissect their bodies to study what transformations had occurred under the Dark Dimension's influence.

If possible... he wanted to pull off something similar to the Ancient One's trick tapping into forbidden energy while staying under the radar.

Dormammu's own power, reverse-engineered.

After all, wasn't it time someone passed down the Sorcerer Supreme tradition of "steal from the devil and walk away clean"?

"Understood," Connors nodded, eyeing the five unconscious figures. Their heavy black eye shadow and smokey features barely fazed him anymore. Since Nolan took over Oscorp, "anatomical anomalies" had become routine.

Nolan pressed his fingers to each cultist's forehead.

A surge of Dragon Force pulsed from his hands, flowing into their minds. Simultaneously, he amplified his telepathic probe using magnetic resonance, enhancing his precision.

Memories surfaced like oil rising from the water.

None of these men were formally trained sorcerers. Most had stumbled upon mystic incidents or forbidden tomes. In time, they had come into possession of spells linked to Dormammu gifts from the Dark Dimension.

They didn't question the cost.

Only the power.

Their final thoughts confirmed it—they'd been sent to New York by Dormammu himself to assist Kaecilius.

Just as Nolan tried to dig deeper—

A presence looked back.

Two searing eyes, twin suns of black fire, stared into him from the abyss.

"Wretched insect... you dare gaze into my power?"

Nolan gasped.

Darkness flooded him not chaos, not evil... but emptiness. Infinite silence. A void that swallowed thought, light, and will.

He was sinking.

Down.

Down.

Deeper.

And then—

"Return."

A calm, firm voice echoed in his mind. Light pierced the shadows. Nolan snapped upright, eyes wide.

The lab reappeared.

Standing behind him was the Ancient One herself.

She sighed.

"You're reckless. These cultists commune directly with the Dark Dimension. Peering into their minds invites Dormammu himself."

She folded her arms.

"Did you think Mordo and Wong never studied soul magic? We avoid it for a reason."

She'd been mid-conversation with Mordo about Kaecilius when she suddenly sensed Dormammu's influence spiking in New York centered on Nolan's lab.

Of course, it was him.

When she arrived, Nolan's spirit was already drowning in corruption.

"Had I not intervened, you'd be his puppet by now," she said flatly.

Nolan stayed silent.

He'd underestimated the scale. He assumed Dormammu was just another "power" to be studied and deconstructed. His mastery over magic had made him cocky.

But this wasn't like fighting enhanced humans or even celestial tech.

This was a god. One who corrupted with mere glances.

Even Beast had only warned Nolan about siphoning its power. Dormammu tried to consume him through a memory.

A clear line had been crossed.

"Study more than just spells," the Ancient One advised as she turned to leave. "Learn about the gods who grant them. You're not invincible, Nolan."

He nodded. "Thank you..."

She offered a faint smile. "So long as I'm here, I'll catch you when you fall."

With that, she stepped through a portal. Mordo followed close behind, casting Nolan one last grim look.

Nolan turned to face the five unconscious cultists.

"Dormammu... looks like we've got beef now."

He nodded to Connors. "Begin dissection." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

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Later...

The lab's incinerator roared as the charred remains of the five cultists were disposed of. Al's holographic display lit up, showcasing tissue scans and molecular breakdowns.

"The cellular decay resembles extreme acid corrosion," Connors noted, "but it follows a pattern... almost ritualistic."

Nolan reviewed the data.

Dark Dimension magic wasn't free. It required a conduit, a medium, to tether its energy to the Earth plane.

Earth's magical foundation was already stabilized by the Three Sanctums built by Agamotto. Without a proper link, hostile powers like Dormammu were heavily suppressed.

These cultists had become the conduit.

Branded. Altered. Marked with corruption.

"File them under magical artifact bio-data," Nolan ordered. "But this is just a start. We need Kaecilius if we want deeper data."

"Al," he said, "update surveillance protocols. Highest priority. Add keywords: Dormammu. Inhumans. Skye. Gravitonium."

Al's voice chimed: "Acknowledged, sir. Surveillance parameters updated."

Despite the close call, Nolan wasn't backing down. In fact, a new lead had emerged.

Gravitonium.

If he could merge magnetism with gravitational force, it might unlock the remaining fundamental interactions—strong and weak nuclear forces.

A complete manipulation of reality's very fabric.

Al's screen flickered. "Sir, symbiote-genome fusion modeling complete."

A genetic strand materialized a hybrid helix of alien and mimetic DNA. It shimmered with endless permutations.

"Eight base pairs," Al explained. "Purine and pyrimidine groups. Total possible configurations: over 16 million. Symbiotes possess unparalleled pairing adaptability."

Nolan's eyes gleamed.

So many potential combinations. So many new rules to rewrite.

His goal wasn't just to control genes anymore.

His body was becoming the generator—a walking evolution engine.

A living replication core.

His flesh: stable.

His mind: unyielding.

His DNA... now programmable.

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