While Lorien and Gwen were laughing and enjoying themselves, the news was already reporting that Sokovia now existed in name only.
The battle between the superheroes had ended. In the end, they won — but the price was staggering.
Sokovia was gone. Completely obliterated. Not even a trace remained.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of residents were dead or injured. Every bit of property had been wiped out. Nothing left at all.
And what would become of those Sokovian residents — no, refugees — now?
On top of that, Wanda's brother was gone too.
At that moment, Scarlet Witch Wanda collapsed to the ground, tear-streaked cheeks and a shattered expression. She couldn't accept that her brother had vanished along with Sokovia — no body to bury, not even a final glimpse.
The other Avengers stood a short distance behind her, watching in silence, their brows furrowed. Natasha's expression carried its own quiet sadness.
"I'm sorry."
Hawkeye stepped forward, his voice low.
"Your brother sacrificed himself to save me. I feel… deeply guilty."
Wanda neither looked up nor moved. Her voice, heavy with grief, cut through the quiet.
"Will your guilt bring my brother back?"
The air fell utterly still. Losing family… there was no comfort for that.
Clap. Clap.
Captain America stepped forward, hands coming together in a firm gesture.
"Avengers, pull yourselves together. We still have work to do. And there are greater challenges ahead."
The words hung in the air for a moment before the others nodded and sighed, breaking away to resume their duties.
Wanda stayed where she was, crying until she had nothing left, then finally closed her eyes, wiped her tears, and walked away.
...
In the wake of the events of Captain America 2 — Project Insight, the so-called "Washington incident" where three helicarriers turned their weapons on each other and left the city in ruins — S.H.I.E.L.D. had faded from the public eye.
In its place stood the Avengers Compound, funded entirely by Tony Stark, its logo replaced with the now-iconic capital A within a circle.
But that had nothing to do with Lorien.
After exchanging contact information with Gwen, she was quickly called away by her team.
...
New York, medical banquet.
After happily exchanging contact information with Gwen, Lorien watched her walk away — just in time for Stephen to arrive with a glass of wine in hand. He glanced in the direction Gwen had gone.
"She legal?"
"About to graduate high school."
"Oh, then you won't be going to prison."
Lorien shot him a middle finger.
It was, of course, a joke. In the U.S., the rules for this kind of thing vary from state to state, but in most places, anything after high school isn't illegal. Besides, women here tended to look more mature. A girl like Gwen — young and stunning — was rare, which was why Stephen made the remark. In his own way, it was a compliment.
"What, back already?" Lorien asked him.
"Same as always," Stephen said with a shake of his head. "Feels like Christine is still the best candidate for the future."
Christine — full name Christine Palmer — was also a trauma surgeon, Stephen's colleague, and a close friend. Their relationship hovered in that gray area just past friendship but not quite at romance. One step away.
"Then take the shot early," Lorien said.
Stephen sighed, then smirked and fired back, "Then why is it that so many women chase you, yet I've never seen you bring even one into your car?"
Back when Lorien drove a Ferrari, the fiery red body combined with his good looks and reputation had plenty of women eager to get in. And once they did, well… the outcome was obvious — straight home, straight to bed.
Stephen knew that if Lorien wanted to, he could be a playboy like Stark, and every beautiful woman in sight would be fair game. But Lorien had never taken a single one home. He'd even stopped driving his own car, preferring to ride in Stephen's instead.
Stephen still didn't get it. Lorien loved beautiful women, yet never made a move. Why? Could it be…
Through the Phoenix Force, Lorien was already reading Stephen's thoughts. He was actually questioning his… capabilities?
"Take that thought one step further, and your Lamborghini will be sitting at the bottom of the ocean tonight."
"Alright, I was wrong," Stephen said immediately, surrendering with raised hands. Then he shook his head in disbelief. "I have to admit, Lorien, your mental abilities are terrifying."
Terrifying indeed. Did he have any idea how valuable the Phoenix Force was?
At its peak — not in fragment form — it could overwhelm even the Five Great Gods. But it had two major drawbacks.
First, it required collecting fragments; without them, there was a ceiling to its power. Right now, Lorien's strength was at most at a sub-god or skyfather level. But with enough fragments, he could reach single-universe level, then multiverse, even super-multiverse and beyond.
Second, the Phoenix Force carried its own will, meaning the wielder would be influenced to varying degrees. When Lorien first obtained it, he felt that influence — like a damn phoenix flying loops in his head, driving him insane. The distraction made it dangerously easy to lose control.
Fortunately, one of his later Nine-to-Five check-ins granted him another powerful ability: [Purification].
In simple terms, it could erase any side effect.
At first, Lorien thought it was underwhelming — until he realized it was actually a supreme ability. Anything that made him uncomfortable or that he disliked could be erased.
The lingering will within the Phoenix fragment? Wiped clean.
And in the Marvel Universe, there was no shortage of abilities and items with nasty drawbacks. That made [Purification] all the more valuable.