"When did this happen?"
"Why didn't you mention it before?"
Hela found it strange. She knew Lothar; this single-minded creature wasn't the type to actively take on subordinates. Unless he had another motive. With that thought, Hela's eyes grew more dangerous.
Wanda, sensing the shift, looked at Hela. Her intuition told her that this woman had a killing intent toward her. What had she done to offend her? Wanda was confused. She wanted to say something, but with her superior, Lothar, right there, she didn't want to be "presumptuous."
"I met them after I left the Sanctum Sanctorum. Both of their bodies were corrupted by a Mind Stone isotope."
"Like Malekith?" The murderous intent flickering in Hela's heart began to fade. From what she knew of Lothar, he wouldn't lie. And if he had met them after leaving the Sanctum Sanctorum, then Wanda was cleared of being a homewrecker.
"No, Malekith was directly in control of the Reality Stone," Lothar said, shaking his head. "They're more like Shafrin, who I met back in U40."
Speaking of which, Shafrin had also possessed the power of the Mind Stone.
Lothar narrowed his eyes, his gaze moving back and forth between Pietro and Wanda. His calm, quiet scrutiny made the siblings feel a chill.
Wanda wanted to ask who Shafrin was and why they were like him, but her courage evaporated every time she opened her mouth.
Lothar's cold demeanor was intimidating, and combined with the baseless fear Hela had given her, Wanda decided it was better to keep quiet.
Helping her injured brother Pietro into his seat, Wanda fastened her seatbelt. She looked up and saw two test tubes filled with green liquid flying towards her.
Plink!
Wanda caught them. The pressure of the seatbelt made her chest swell, and Hela's eyes instinctively flitted to the sight, twitching involuntarily. That overly-curved "coastline" deeply affected the current queen of Asgard's confidence.
"The nutrient fluid will help your injuries heal quickly. Once we get back to the Black Quadrant, The Other will take you to Ebony Maw to be registered."
"He'll be your boss from now on. If you have any questions, ask him. Don't bother me."
Lothar stood ramrod, not looking at Wanda. He was completely unfazed by her unintentional display and instead told her not to bother him.
"?!"
The Other, who had been following Lothar while carrying the Mind Scepter, suddenly perked up. He took a few small steps forward and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Your Highness Lothar."
The grin on The Other's face was huge, showing just how excited he was. After all these years, it wasn't easy. He finally had subordinates who weren't just Chitauri! The fact that Lothar had given him so much authority was incredibly touching.
Who said sycophants end up with nothing?! The key was to grovel at the right person! He thought.
The Other gave a triumphant smile under the stunned gazes of Pietro and Wanda.
"What do you want?" Lothar asked Hela.
"Let's talk about it back in the Black Quadrant. Just us."
After the Lothar's ship was activated, Hela decided to go back with him. If things went well, she'd even meet with Thanos, the father-figure. She was always direct and efficient.
Meanwhile, in a hospital in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to the name Tony Stark and Pepper Potts's signature as an emergency guardian, a surgery team of multiple medical experts was assembled and proceeded without a hitch.
Pepper, who had frantically rushed Tony Stark into the operating room, sat on a bench, rubbing her temples, her face in her hands.
Bruce Banner, who had changed into a new set of clothes, leaned against the cold wall outside the operating room, his arms crossed. He kept glancing at the closed door, his face full of worry.
They couldn't get through to S.H.I.E.L.D. by phone, and this hospital was the best one Stark Industries could find, including the experts performing the surgery.
Suddenly, a harsh phone ring broke the silence of the hospital corridor. Bruce Banner quickly pulled out his phone. The caller ID was an unknown number.
"Hello?" Banner carefully looked at Pepper before answering.
"Banner, where are you? Is everything okay?!" On the other end of the line was the anxious voice of Natasha Romanoff.
"We're at a hospital. Tony was attacked and is in surgery now. What's going on with you guys? Why wasn't anyone answering the phone?"
"Well... how do I put this, Banner. It's because the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier—God... what is that…"
Before Banner could ask what was wrong, the call was suddenly cut off.
"Natasha?"
"Natasha?"
Bruce Banner, in the hospital hallway, held his phone and exchanged a look with Pepper Potts, who had stood up. They both saw the same unease and confusion in each other's eyes.
At the same time, in the ruins of the Stark villa, Natasha, who had used an emergency escape measure to get off the exploding S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, was now watching the ground for a coming threat.
Covered in dust, the senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's face was a mess, and her torn jumpsuit was stained with blood from the explosion.
"Detecting large amounts of foreign data influx…"
"Detecting large amounts of foreign data influx…"
"Detecting…"
The electronic voice that rang out three times in Natasha's ear was filled with a technological quality. A silver robot frame slowly rose from Stark's underground lab.
"God... what is that…"
Even with her extensive experience, Natasha was unsettled by the eerie sight.
"Data input complete, core filled, Ultron activating…"
The electronic voice continued. A huge amount of data that Natasha couldn't understand flashed in the underground lab. Then, a small, silver cube suddenly fell from the sky and landed on top of the robot's head. The data in the underground lab instantly corrupted, and the computers crashed.
BZZT!
The small cube on Ultron's head glowed brightly, and a thick silver energy enveloped the empty frame.
"What… what is that...?"
"A surprise, of course." A familiar, yet foreign, voice echoed in Natasha's ears. She quickly turned around. A fully armored figure was standing in the rubble, a spinning silver rectangular cube in his hand.
"Loki?!"
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This fanfic has been fully translated!