The Phoenix Kingdom's First Town Hall Meeting

_Written in collaboration with NamiCwhaan

Well, that was easy.

A little more than a week and the entire apartment building was his, barring a handful of people who were out of town or hadn't been seen in awhile.

Current Hidden Phoenix Kingdom Population: 72.

A far cry from his Wakandan counterpart's millions, but it was a start.

He'd delegated to Natasha on how to get his canister of Markscent distributed across this whole place while he went door to door for a while with America and Felicia in tow. Between gorgeous and un-intimidating ladies as his ambassadors or simply the slight power of his subliminal commands within his voice, it had been child's play getting doors to open for an awkward handshake. Once he had converted the person that opened the door, they were all too happy to bring him inside and introduce him to anyone else in the apartment. And, of course, for the few outliers where the person got suspicious or he interrupted something… sensitive, well, America and Felicia were both dangerous and competent.

They quickly proved their worth when one apartment proved to be a bit of a challenge, concealing a stash of weapons and ****, guarded fiercely by two belligerent gang members who were less than pleased with their happy comrade's invitation to Mark. But for Mark, it was an opportunity to expand his arsenal and he quickly seized the cache for the kingdom.

Despite the task at hand, Mark had made sure to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. After completing his rounds, he would take a break to engage in debauchery with any hotties he had come across. It was his way of savoring the thrill of power and the promise of the loyal subjects he had created.

Surprisingly, Mark found that these breaks had actually been beneficial to his mission. As the Markscent permeated the air more strongly with each passing hour, the potency of its influence only grew. Additionally, with the aid of Natasha's tactical insights, Mark had been able to keep track of his progress and ensure that no potential subjects were missed.

His Widow's intelligence gathering expertise had been invaluable, serving as a crucial backbone to the mission. With her aid, Mark could focus on his task without worrying about any potential oversights or lapses. Opportunities for conversion were set up and easily exploited, with each new person soon becoming another loyal subject for the Hidden Phoenix Kingdom.

The air was thick with the smell of sex and sweat, and the sound of moans and groans filled the room.

It was a scene of pure hedonism, making it basically Mark’s anthem. Around the edges of the space, various couples copulated. As Mark surveyed the scene, he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. He had started from nothing, and now he was the absolute and holy monarch of the Hidden Phoenix Kingdom. Even if it was only currently in a minuscule larval form. These people worshiped him and would do anything he asked of them. He had complete control over their minds and bodies, and they were more than happy to submit to his will. The fact that public sex was considered normal in the Hidden Phoenix Kingdom was just another testament to the power that he held over these people.

As he strode forward, he watched the people around him, he felt a surge of excitement. He knew that he could make any one of them do anything he wanted, and the possibilities were endless. He could have them perform any act, no matter how taboo or depraved, and they would do it without hesitation.

Wearing just a white bathrobe from one of his tenants, Mark's hard prick bobbed and swayed, fully erect and leading the way.

Mark had gathered the majority of the converted tenants in the building here, on the top floor where there was plenty of space. There was supposed to be a pool, but the fatass landlord hadn’t bothered to maintain it since the Snap and so instead there was merely a dirty rectangular pit with a few inches deep layer of stagnant water.

Mark walked through the crowd, watching as his subjects pleasured each other. He stopped at one couple, a man and a woman, who were engaged in a passionate embrace. Mark reached out and touched the man's forehead, sending a surge of pleasure through his body. The man moaned and thrust harder into his partner, causing her to gasp with pleasure.

His designated throne was a reclining La-Z-Boy propped up on top a foursome of crates.

In the cheap, multi-colored folding chairs arranged around him were his Lords: Natasha, Felicia, America, and… Bob. Mindful of his Big Bro counterpart, who’d lucked into taking over an entire country. Mark was anxious to do the same and he’d already come up with a structure that he thought would work and would tickle him pink.

"Thank you all for coming," Mark began, his voice carrying easily in the hushed room. "As you all know, we've accomplished our first mission. The Hidden Phoenix Kingdom now has 72 loyal subjects in this building."

There was a smattering of applause and murmurs of agreement from the gathered crowd.

"But our work is not done yet," Mark continued. "As you know now, I am a multiversal traveller! From multiple utopias where I ruled, but was cast out by the worst of the worst!” A ‘booo’ travelled through the group, Mark somewhat enjoying the panto-energy, “But this universe is in **** need of saving! The Avengers abandoned you for five years! And if they hadn’t messed with your very timestream, they’d have left this whole universe cut in half!”

America and Felicia seemed to be egging on the crowd a little, with people yelling ‘Fakes!’ or ‘Failures!’ at the idea of their superheroes.

“I want to save you all, to rule this world in a sexual haven, so to do that I need to spread my roots as deep as possible. We need to expand our territory and our influence. To that end, as residents of this universe, I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions on where to go next."

There was a moment of silence as people looked around at each other, unsure of where to start. Claire, the building's resident nurse and caretaker, spoke up first.

"Well, we do have a lot of sick and elderly people in the neighborhood who could use some help," she suggested. "Maybe we could start a clinic or a community outreach program?"

Mark nodded thoughtfully. "You see? That's a good idea from my favoured concubine, Claire. We could certainly use our resources to help those in need, and it would also help us gain more influence and goodwill in the community."

Bob, the landlord, chimed in next. He was a sweaty, rotund man in a white-wife-beater with an overabundance of unsightly curled black body hair that would soon be removed in deference to Mark’s preferences. He was mostly bald with a fringe of hair that resembled a monk’s, though his thick and majestic handle-bar moustache was a thing to behold, "We could also staht lookin' into buyin' up maw buildings in da area. Dat way we can expand our territ'ry and have more control ovah da area."

“Hmm… Can’t I just influence the building owner like, oh I dunno, you?”

With a shake of her head, Natasha frowned, “Not always. Eventually our name will be heard too far, we’ll have to go public as either a religion or a cult. If you already own most of New York’s land owners then we’ll get into trouble with any number of IRS or political figures who consider you a sudden, immediate threat.”

“Okay, legal it is. For now.” Mark sighed, “How much dough we got, anyway?”

"Yo, listen up. We doin' the math, dawg, and it turns out we got like 160,000 in cash from all these people livin' here.” Some young man with dark skin and apparently no belt revealed his somewhat surprising mathematics ability, “So here's my thinkin', we use that dough to buy up the Century next door. That way we can expand our territory and have even more control in the area, y'know what I'm sayin'?"

His King seemed impressed, “I know what you’re saying, yeah. Diversify the ol portfolio with an investment building… it is still what Century is in this universe, yeah?”

“Yeah, legit,” The young man nodded, “That’s the cash, but we gotta increase our credit score too, maybe purchase some yachts and have all of us pay it off with our bank money.”

Natasha was far more against that thought, "Hold on, while it's true all of the funds in your bank accounts now belong to us nobles, and through us, the kingdom. We can't simply empty them out without considering the needs of those who rely on them. Many of you have family members to support and obligations to meet that won’t happen if we buy… yachts.” Her face turned very unimpressed with the young man. “As we continue to establish the Hidden Phoenix Kingdom, we must maintain the facade of your old lives until we are more established and secure.”

“And I can’t stress the fact we don’t want to mess with the IRS,” Felicia, in an almost uncharacteristic fashion, warned with dead seriousness. “So many villains have fucked around and found out after robbing banks. The longer we can sail under their radar, the better.”

“Okay, so keep it legal, but not too legal or else the legal people will come find us.” Mark corrected himself with a bit of frustration in his voice. “Goddamn, who knew running a secret kingdom in the heart of New York would be so much work.”

A young naked white brunette girl who had so recently been fucked a white splotch was splattered on her slightly tubby tummy approached with a nervous air about her, “W-what the Lady Romanof said… about l-loved ones…” She gulped, “C-can’t we just bring them into the K-Kingdom too? I… I really want my s-sister…” Her voice trailed into mumbles as her fingers pressed together. The nakedness not bothering her as much as just talking in the public forum to the King and Lords of such a perfect society. That, and the remembrance of when Mark fucked her hard.

“I’m sure we can bring your sister in and stretch her as much as you soon enough,” Mark smiled with a half genuine, half lecherous smile to the beaming brunette. “Though some of them might have to be, like, sleeper agents. Ones that don’t actively realise they’re part of the kingdom until they reach one of our facilities or are alone with one of us. Easier to fly under the radar if the plane doesn’t realise it’s a plane.”

America couldn’t help but chuckle, “That’s a weird-ass metaphor.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true!” Mark shot back with a smirk, “It’s definitely a way to spread ourselves out without raising a single alarm!”

“And did you come up with this? Cause your words are sounding a lot like Natasha’s right now…” Felicia mewled.
With an overexaggerated huff, Mark threw his hands to the sky, “I’m getting sass from my own lords here! You two are trying to get me to angry fuck you, aren’t you?” He pointed at Chavez and Hardy who couldn’t hold back their smiles.
“Well, you haven’t even let us blow your serpiente blanca since this morning!”

Natasha sighed, “Can we please keep the meeting on track for a while longer?” A disappointed moan came from the majority of the crowd, who were becoming excited at the prospect of king-on-lord action. “Quiet!”

“Chill out, ‘Lady Romanov’’.” Mark dismissed, “We already have a general plan. Become the best protection agency of New York and slowly build up our power as an underground **** for ‘good’.”

“Just…” Claire began, seemingly **** to speak up in the presence of royalty but continued after a leading hand gesture from Mark, “...just make sure you don’t become too noticeable in the other direction either. There’s already a lot of ‘protection services’ from New York’s scummiest shithead crime lords. You may find that their resources are tough to go against once they have their eye on you, is all I wanted to say, my King.” She bowed her head timidly.

“No, that’s good info.” Mark considered both suggestions, nodding as he listened. "Expanding our territory would certainly give us more control, but we need to be careful about how we do it. We don't want to attract too much attention to ourselves or appear aggressive to other groups in the area."

“Oh! I’m in gang!” Waved one somewhat overweight man in a pretty iconic red outfit, “Tracksuit Mafia right here, bro! You want control, new boss king bro?”

“Sure, you look pretty low maintenance thug,” Mark chuckled before he turned to Claire. "If we’ll have to someday go public, then starting a community outreach program or clinic is a great idea. We can use our resources to help those in need and show that we're a positive **** in the community. It would also give us an opportunity to network and potentially establish alliances with other organisations or communities in the area."

After continuing to type out more on her laptop, Natasha spoke up next. "If you’re collecting gangs of thugs then we could also consider offering protection services to local businesses and residents. It could generate revenue for us and also establish us as a reliable and trustworthy organization in the community."

“This universe is still pretty wimpy,” America lightly tapped the tracksuit man’s shoulder with her foot and he was sent tumbling to the floor, "Putto… we should also focus on training our members in self-defense and combat. We need to prepare these chodes for any potential threats or attacks from rival factions or outside forces."

Mark nodded in agreement with both suggestions. "Yes, offering protection services could be a lucrative venture for us and also help establish us as a legitimate presence in the community. And training our members in self-defense and combat is crucial for our safety and success."

“If you want a strong person then you should capture Thor!” A nerdy boy excitedly waved his hand in the air, “And Captain Marvel! And Hulk, Wanda, Spider-Man, the bully from my university, War Machine, Black Panther-!”

“All in good time, skippy.” the quietening hand of Mark silenced the sputtering bespectacled boy, “Don’t worry, the supers will each get their turn.”

Claire once more spoke up, “You should keep an eye out for the ones who live on street level still.” She advised with concern, “There’s some with powers who live among us and won’t hesitate to take you down if you start influencing the wrong individuals…”

A wash of agreeing grunts seemed to cover the crowd. With the name ‘Frank Castle’ seemingly the most common whisper between the huddled masses.

“Alright, keep an eye out for Frank, got it gang.” said Mark with a thumbs up, “Though how a cute nurse became so streetwise to the worst parts of NY is a growing mystery”

“I’ve had more Metahuman and vigilante contact than most.” She admitted, a pink in her cheeks from the compliment, “Frank Castle will hunt you down if you’re on his radar, but he isn’t the only one. I told you about Jess, but Matt Murdock and Luke Cage are both Metas who’ve needed ‘under the table’ nursing services before. I hear what they say about this gang or that kingpin, and try to keep my ear to the ground in case anyone else needs help. There was also some guy named Danny Rand but he seemed more bark than bite.”

“On the topic, I also have a dossier of ‘potentials’, sir.” Widow handed him another thick stack, “Things may be different in this universe, but the amount of similarities makes me think we can predict a few new heroes or villains before they even get their powers.” The dossier had many names inside of it. John Walker, Kamala Khan, Eric Brooks, Kate Bishop, Steven Grant, Elsa Bloodstone, and more. “For example, here’s Jennifer Walters, still the cousin of Bruce Banner and has the potential to become She-Hulk.”

“I see… get her while she’s a plain Jen, then make her a sleeper She-Hulk. Gotta say, I like your underhanded scheming Nat.”
She shared his smirk, “Russia trained me well.”

“I’m sure,” He hummed while holding his hand out. Showcasing how stronger his training was by letting the Black Widow place her breast in his hand obediently to let him squeeze it while he read. “This’ll be fun! We’ll need to plan out our path through the supers carefully, else they might all catch wind of me.”

“I dunno boss,” Said the tracksuit man, “Dem Avengers only ever seem to hang out when there’s something big goin’ down… and even den, sometimes dey just let one of em ‘andle it at a time.”

Lounging about on the floor, Felicia piped up, “That’s sort of like our world too. Sometimes heroes like Peter or Logan are ‘the only ones’ to solve the big problem of the day.”

“We at least had hubs for Avengers, X-Men, and other teams.” said Nat, “This world is surprisingly segmented. Tony Stark was their only connective tissue, now that he’s gone it seems that the whole super hero community is just splatters of random events. I’m not even sure there are Avengers anymore, and neither do the rest of the world.”

A resounding sadness seemed to pass over the room at the loss of heroes. Though one woman’s outburst of, “That’s why we’re so glad to have our Phoenix King!” seemed to perk everyone up.

“That’s right! I’m the only hero you need!” Mark lorded over them, “We’ll make sure all these meta-humans are connected under our banner soon enough!”

“Yes, in the coming months and years we’ll see to expanding our territory more and more,” Natasha continued his speech, though something about it made Mark quietly double take and step back to let Nat speak. "We will also start looking into buying up more buildings in the area. That way we can expand our territory and have more control over the area. Furthermore…"

Meanwhile, stepping over away from the speech, a hum took place. “Hmm…” Mark frowned. Lost in thought in the middle of the room while Natasha listed off a few more commands to her people. It was clear to America though that he needed some guidance, and floated over to him.

“What the matter?”

His hand still rested over his chin as he continued to think for a few more seconds, giving her a small sigh while coming out of his thoughts to relay them, “Time. She said years… and I just realised all of this is adding more and more time to the pile.”

“This work is good Mark, it won’t happen overnight.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He said, “And I really don’t want to overshoot again and end up with another Illuminati situation…” A shudder went through his spine at the thought of what he’d been through, “No way. But… it’s been nearly two months since then! Things have been moving quickly bouncing from universe to universe, but I spent ages in Utopia, then too long in Markanda, we travelled the multiverse, and now we’ve been here a week too. All while Sue and Storm are out there! Surviving god knows what in the infinite multiverse, waiting for me! I want to do this universe properly… but I’m not gonna lie, I’m worried about them too…”

He was troubled, and that made America Chavez’s stomach turn to knots. She knew how much his first conquests meant to him, the evidence pretty clear in Markanda, but she also knew how dangerous the Multiverse could be. There was no guarantee that they had been able to find food or liquid to drink, or hadn’t been teleported into a world of man-eating jam, or just been killed because they told the local inhabitants the racist slur of ‘hello’.

It was then America made a choice.

There was no one else who could do what she could do. And now that Mark was saving this universe… there was no reason he had to come too.

“Mark…” She said quietly, kind of dreading the words she had to speak, especially as his eyes rested on hers, “...I think I know what I need to train my harem in. They’ll be warriors… so they can protect you while I’m away.”

That surprised him, his frown growing confused, “Away? You aren’t leaving my side.”

“If that is your will, then I will follow it…” America sighed, “But if you wish it, I will leave you in my warriors capable hands so I can hunt down your missing members.”

It seemed to be weighing on him. The idea was a good one, since she was the only one who could multiverse travel while also being the strongest and toughest among them. But that also meant he’d be giving up his best power as well. What happens if he went up against a Dr Strange or even Thanos type without her? Squishy little Widows and Cats weren’t going to save him… but who was going to save Ororo and Sue?

“It won’t be forever, I could be back in a week with all your babes in tow. And as I said, I won’t go until we find a good replacement for your bodyguard.” America said with a kiss on his cheek, “The toughest, most bulletproof son-of-a-bitch that this universe has to offer.”

Claire, who had apparently overheard the conversation, stepped up to the two, “You wanted bulletproof? I can find you bulletproof.”