Greed suddenly became alert. "What?"
"There's a guy who looks just like me... charging into the battlefield. He... he even has a shield. He shouts 'Avengers Assemble'. Oh gosh, where did he come from..."
Things were obviously not peaceful on Steve's side. There was a lot of static over the phone. Greed could also hear his shouts. It was as if someone had messed something up, and Steve was busy trying to sort things out.
"That's Mephisto..."
"What?"
"Mephisto!" Greed emphasized loudly, "He's trying to learn from you! To become a righteous human starting today!"
"Then why did he turn into me?!" Steve exclaimed incredulously, "He's more like me than I am, and I'm not even wearing a uniform! ... Oh no. They think he's Captain America! Oh my God!"
Clearly, something else had happened. A barrage of chaotic noises followed. Steve then shrieked: "Oh, he got shot! Frank, Frank, wait! No, no, no... What do you mean I'm an imposter?! I am Captain America!!!"
Greed chuckled quietly. But he still said, "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? At least he took a bullet for you?"
"Hell no!" Steve was losing his patience, "Any bullet not aimed at a blind person is avoidable, but he insists on rushing into it... Frank is freaked out. He thinks he's about to shoot Captain America!"
Greed was even more amused. He said, "He's just playing the role of a noble hero. Ignore him and do your thing."
"What kind of scheme is he up to again?" Steve was baffled, "Isn't the situation here chaotic enough already? Oh, he's off signing autographs for the kids. Finally, some use."
Steve's side was in a frenzy again. Clearly, Mephisto's arrival made the situation in Hampton even more complex and unpredictable. Apart from the local rich, there were Alien Nobles, witches, mercenaries for hire, Punisher, and now both the real and fake Captain America.
This fake Captain America was boldly crashing into Frank's gun's muzzle to showcase heroic sacrifice. Greed estimated that Punisher might have encountered the most thrilling scene of his life—almost shooting Captain America.
Punisher indeed had a tough temper and violent ways. But an anti-hero is still a hero. He hasn't killed the innocent. Asking him to kill someone like Captain America would surely be unacceptable.
Especially in what seemed like a major brawl. The aliens and mercenaries were there; they all knew Captain America. That shot could even turn the nobles of Shi'ar Empire against him. If Captain America were down, everyone except those reclusive witches present could team up against Punisher.
Mephisto was undoubtedly scheming intentionally. Greed could tell. Mephisto indeed adopted his suggestion and intended to try it, not merely going through the motions. But he has been a devil for so many years; scheming, plotting, and sowing discord have become second nature. He's absolutely an ancient-grade supreme stirring stick; his actions were extraordinary.
Greed couldn't sleep anymore. He got up, went outside, and looked down the mountain. Sure enough, Hampton was in total chaos. They were trying to distinguish which was the real Captain America and determine if Punisher was crazy, splitting into dozens of groups, enough to create a major event spanning more than twenty issues conservatively.
"Shiller! Shiller!" Chris shouted from upstairs, "I've revised the script, do you want to come up and take a look?"
Greed hurried upstairs. Chris welcomed him into the study, stuffed the freshly written manuscript into his arms, then closed the door, somewhat excitedly saying, "See what you think?"
Greed observed his actions and said, "Why are you sneaky about it?"
"Uh, this version isn't suitable for all ages," Chris explained, "There are kids downstairs, can't let them see it."
"Does the film rating need to be changed?" Greed asked while reading.
"Not necessarily. I have ways to make it seem harmless. Writing bluntly is to facilitate understanding and performance." Chris explained.
Greed nodded, understanding. Directors can use camera language to obscure many things. Some elements just need not be explicitly filmed, and they'll pass censorship. Especially films with political tasks.
Greed started reading from the beginning. This version naturally followed the style Greed mentioned. It wasn't Mephisto tempting Samael, but Samael investigating Mephisto's existence through historical texts, knowing his penchant for collecting evils, and actively coming to the Christ Crown Region, summoning Mephisto with an array.
The climax of this story was Saphire and Mephisto's negotiation. Chris basically replicated Greed's negotiation with Mephisto, just replacing love with power. Saphire tempted Mephisto to gain greater power.
Their relationship was mutually exploitative. Saphire convinced Mephisto to grant him power and knowledge, allowing him to further refine dangerous black magic, while Saphire created more chaos and evil for him, enriching Hell itself.
This revised story looked much better, lacking overly religious elements, appearing more authentic, because most mages and demon gods have such relationships. Demon gods lend power to mages, mages promote their names, with little sincerity or faith involved, mostly mutual exploitation.
However, it still feels a bit thin. More importantly, Greed just remembered that he had promised quite a few people to give them additional scenes. The plot involving the Little Wizard is quite self-contained, focusing mainly on the happenings within the school; the structure is already very tight, and there's little room in the dialogue to make changes. So, it seems the best place to start is with Saphire's part.
Greed pondered for a moment, then said, "Here's the thing, S.H.I.E.L.D. approached me. They said they wanted a cameo in the movie. Of course, they don't need a lot of scenes, just enough to show their dedication to duty. Do you think we can fit that in?"
"In this part of the story?" Chris asked. After a brief thought, he said, "But it seems like S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't exist in this era. If we want to tell the story of how S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, it might end up being a bit too drawn out."
"What about Asgard then?" Greed asked.
"But Asgard during that time should be busy conquering the universe, right? They wouldn't focus much on Earth," Chris said.
"Alright." Greed hadn't been too hopeful to begin with, as these last-minute additions are indeed hard to integrate, and the era isn't quite right.
"Why not shoot a standalone movie?" Chris asked.
"Because the investment is too large, and we can't guarantee the quality," Greed explained. "The promotional aspect is also very heavy, making it not very easy to secure investment."
"Then let's make a TV series," Chris suggested. "We can start with one season, and if it goes well, we can renew it. This way, it'll be easier for several video platforms to invest."
Greed nodded, thinking this was indeed a good idea. Making a movie for the magical school was primarily for appeasing public opinion, to give people a deeper understanding of magic and prevent panic. This benefits the people of every country, and all nations are willing to participate, so this movie could be a big production.
However, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a very distinct national and regional character. Although it belongs to the United Nations, everyone knows its jurisdiction is limited to America and its allied countries. Without global influence, attracting significant investment would be challenging.
Asgard, even more so, isn't human-related at all. Making a movie to promote them would have very subtle implications. There's no issue now, but if things ever went south, wouldn't they be accused of being traitors to humanity? That makes people even more reluctant to make a film about it.
But a TV series doesn't have these concerns. TV series have a smaller investment, don't require grand scenes, and rely primarily on plot and setting to win audiences, which is more entertaining. Plus, they can be shot season by season. If the reception isn't great, it can be canceled without much loss.
Chris returned to Massachusetts with the script for final adjustments. Greed contacted S.H.I.E.L.D., Asgard, and the well-known Oracle Platform to gauge their interest in making a TV series.
The platform was actually quite interested, especially in Asgard. Ordinary people are now aware of Asgard's existence but don't quite understand what they're about. Many are very curious. Unfortunately, Asgard isn't open to tourism; you can't take photos there, much less post them. People know very little about it.
If there were a TV series focusing on Asgardians at this time, it would undoubtedly be very popular. The platform was even willing to build a S.H.I.E.L.D. set for the show.
That's right, S.H.I.E.L.D. was essentially a bonus. After all, there have been too many films about superpower crimes and spy movies, and even combining the two doesn't offer much novelty. It was only when Nick agreed to disclose some real cases and the existence of Hydra that the platform reluctantly agreed to give it a try.
To finalize matters regarding the Asgard TV series, Greed gave Loki a call. However, Loki was a bit busy lately, so Thor came down himself.
As soon as he stepped into the estate, he pointed outside and asked, "What's going on down there? Why are they fighting?"
"Some regional festival activities," Greed explained simply, "warming up for Christmas."
"Though Asgard doesn't celebrate Christmas, you can't fool me like that," Thor shook his head and said, "What's this about a TV series?"
Greed gave a brief explanation and then said, "I have two ideas for the TV show. Would you like to hear them?"
"Go ahead. It would be great if it could be as successful as a movie."
"One method is to create a sense of contrast. Focus mainly on Asgard's splendor, the God Clan's power, and their invincible years of cosmic conquests..."
Thor shook his head. His golden hair was unbraided, hanging wildly, longer than it appears most of the time in the movies and comics. When he shook his head, it was like a lion shaking its mane.
"We've long since stopped waging wars. Constantly showcasing those past events is meaningless," Thor said. "Moreover, we don't want humans to see us as nothing more than brawny brutes."
After pausing, he added somewhat awkwardly, "We want to emphasize the commonalities between us and humans. We are all intelligent beings with abundant emotions and should naturally be like brothers and sisters."
"Odin previously didn't take Midgard seriously because its warfare value was low, it wasn't a strategic location, and it lacked significant resources. Most people on Earth are too fragile. Involving it in wars provides no benefit."
"Our current focus on Earth is due to its high diplomatic value. Humanity is indeed one of the few civilizations in the universe willing to engage in deep exchanges with Asgard. It proves that our commonalities must outweigh our individual differences. We should naturally be so close, shouldn't we?"