Marvel: I'm a Symbiote

As more time passed in the world, the president continued releasing one outrageous policy after another every alternate year, and somehow, Congress ate it up like no tomorrow, giving him a unanimous vote of agreement. Soon, more than seven years had passed since the president's initial swearing-in, and he was preparing to campaign for a third term as president. That had been the policy he advocated in the second year of his second term. And somehow, after an initial burst of outrage, the public always seemed to accept everything at face value.

Now, however, some groups of radicals were completely unwilling to accept the mockery of democracy that the current political system was shaping out to be. That led to the creation of a resistance force that operated in the shadows all over the country, working to disrupt the man's propaganda. Unfortunately for them, they had neither the resources of the huge industries uprooted by the President's policies nor the technologically superior means he possessed. They even lacked manpower since most people were already getting comfortable with the status quo after realizing that their quality of life was rapidly improving. Ultimately, most of the resistance's actions resulted in no more than a small splash that was quickly covered up. Be it the assassinations of officials or the open protests, nothing was particularly successful.

The elections were held in November of the seventh year of the President's term in office. On this day, the resistance was planning to deal a major blow to the president, but before they could execute their plan, one of their core leaders and the most active combatant was apprehended by an unknown group of individuals whom the leaders considered to be a secret force trained by the President under the so-called 'reform' policy. This was a huge blow to the resistance and, consequently, a bonus victory for the President, who was all but confirmed to win this time as well.

As for the arrested individual, she wasn't even afforded an official trial and was directly brought to the Gaia Penitentiary as a special inmate to serve the life sentence. Since she had already been confirmed to have assassinated multiple officials in order to disrupt the Alex administration, the treasonous crime had already made the need for a trial moot.

…

A silver-haired woman opened her eyes in discomfort as the bright white lights in the room shone directly on her face. She put her arm over her face and turned her head away with a groan. Seconds later, she abruptly sat up with a sense of panic in her eyes and looked around the 'room,' if it could even be called that. Aside from the bed that she was on, the room was completely bare, with white paneled walls on all three sides and an opaque mirror on the fourth that she could see her reflection in.

"Good morning, Miss Silvija Sablinova," a gentle and soothing feminine voice entered the woman's ears, making her perk up in confusion.

"Gaia?" The silver-haired woman, now identified as Silvija, spoke out in confusion at the familiar voice. Despite the nature of the resistance force, they all had to conform to the use of the Gaia Bracelet solely due to the fact that they were completely handicapped without it. Paper money had become all but obsolete since these bracelets were introduced, not to mention the countless basic facilities that required one to have the bracelet as a form of identification. All these things made the bracelet a staple of their civilization, whether they liked it or not. These bracelets had even pervaded through other countries, although not as expansively as the States.

"Yes," the woman nodded. "You are currently being detained in the Gaia Penitentiary and have violated certain laws that your trial has been bypassed to assign you to this facility."

The woman's heart leaped to her throat. "I was captured … Those women were inhuman. What kind of monstrous experiments has he done on them to make them this strong?"

"The four combatants who apprehended you were a part of Mr. Apex's Black Widows," Gaia answered the woman's rhetorical query. "An otherworldly force of spies that is under the command of one of Mr. Apex's generals. Their strength comes only from Mr. Apex's boons and their determination to get stronger. As for the people rejected from the Gaia Penitentiary, they are simply executed as they do not meet Mr. Apex's standards for utilization."

Silvija was both slightly horrified and a little surprised. She suppressed her horror to ask, "You are allowed to tell me these things?"

"The information blockade for your ID has been lifted. Mr. Apex should come to meet you soon."

"W-who is that?" The woman asked. "Apex?"

"The President," Gaia responded. "The President may go by Mr. Alex Hunt amongst the public, but his primary address is Mr. Apex."

Silvija frowned at the answer she received. "I'm never leaving this place, am I?"

"Yes," Gaia spoke. "Due to your identity, your initiation was to be postponed until after the meeting with the President, but you are effectively one of the permanent prisoners of the Gaia Penitentiary. You will be introduced to the rules during the initiation process."

The silver-haired woman's heart sank to her stomach at the response. "Is there any way for me to get out of here?" Considering her situation, she decided to ask directly. The worst thing that could happen would be a refusal.

"Yes." The answer surprised Silvija.

"Can you elaborate?"

"A few years ago, this was not possible," The woman spoke. "But many modifications were made to the rules recently. If you follow all of my commands without hesitation and pass a comprehensive character evaluation for ten years, you will have the opportunity to join the President's Black Widows."

"So I need to show you that I have been sufficiently brainwashed?"

Gaia didn't respond. Just as Silvija was about to speak again, three of the vertical panels in the wall slid inwardly as a familiar man entered the room.

Without a moment of hesitation, Silvija burst into action and tackled Alex, intent on pushing him away before she escaped.

The scene she imagined didn't happen. Her arms simply collided with the man, not even making him step back.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her waist to stop her from falling to the ground due to her momentum.

"I know you're happy to see me, but no need to hurt yourself," he told her. She didn't know why, but the man's voice infuriated Silvija. She snorted and pushed him away, only to end up stepping back herself.

"Why are you so strong?" She said with frustration as the panels behind Alex closed once again.

"Silvija Sablinova," Alex shrugged her question off, "or Silver Sable. Welcome to your new life."

Silvija went silent and looked down at her heels, thinking of what she could do. While she still had her silver combat suit on, all of her weapons, even the most hidden ones, had been removed.

"You, unlike other prisoners, are special," Alex said. "Your track record truly impresses me."

The woman snorted at his praise. "Please, you just want to use me."

"Is that so bad?" Alex asked in return. "I have multiple planets under my fist and am slowly adding even more. Do you really think that it would be a bad deal to work for the leader of a budding intergalactic empire?"

The words made Silvija look up at Alex with shock in her eyes. "No wonder …" she mumbled to herself. "No wonder we can't do anything to you. No wonder you don't care about our small moves. Those Widows must be the reason why you can so rapidly destroy entire industries without so much as a splash."

"I'll admit, I'm much more radical with the moves I make on this planet than others," Alex said. "But I'm also learning, you see. I'm experimenting with the best ways to govern my domain."

"Experimenting …" There was a fierce glint in the woman's eyes.

"Don't be so angry. I'm experimenting with the approach, that's all. My ultimate goal is the prosperity of my citizens. That's all. If you look outside the little box you've confined your worldview to, you'll realize that not only is my administration fixing all sorts of fundamental problems with the country, but I am also protecting this planet from otherworldly threats. Do you think every Earth is as tame as yours? The other Earths have entities who can directly destroy this planet without breaking a sweat."

"… Why are you telling me all this?" She asked after some thought. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I want you to work for me," Alex said. "You heard Gaia's offer, right? Ten years. As long as you diligently follow the training regime I have established for you and obey Gaia's commands, I will integrate you into the Black Widows as the third commander alongside Yelena and another. The only direct orders you will need to follow will be mine and Natasha's — she is my general and the main handler of the Widows."

"… I will not abandon my country," The conviction in her eyes was final. "Symkaria is my bottom line."

"Then I will make sure that your country prospers and becomes what the European Union wishes it could be," Alex's almost casual tone terrified the woman.

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"I will take control of your country," Alex said. "And I will conquer the entire European continent. If you're feeling particularly vain, I'll even rename the continent to Symkaria."

"It will survive under your so-called galactic empire?"

"Under my Empire, there will obviously be subsidiary nations and sovereignties," Alex said. "Symkaria can be one of the ones that don't disappear into obscurity."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"You do," Alex said. "Merely that the other choice is to accept or to spend your entire life being milked for Bioenergy like the rest of the prisoners. The only reason you have a choice is because of your willpower and your skills."

"Fine …" As the woman sighed, Alex bade her farewell, reminding her that he would come to meet her in a year.

***

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