Lock's palm shimmered with a faint blue light as he slowly pressed it toward the cell door.
In the next instant, both Wanda and Quicksilver witnessed something that defied all logic.
The alloy fence and the glowing energy wall began to twist—slowly folding upon themselves like an abstract painting being torn apart. Then, at the center, a narrow hole appeared, large enough for one person to slip through.
Lock had done the impossible—he had bent space itself.
From the outside, the metal and energy barrier looked warped and distorted, but in four-dimensional space, their positions had never truly changed.
It was like light refracting through water—bent to the eye, yet moving in a perfectly straight line from its own perspective.
Because of this, the energy field didn't detect any intrusion or alteration. It remained stable, unaware that reality itself had been twisted around it.
The result—a silent, invisible passage carved through pure geometry.
"Okay," Lock said evenly. "Come out."
Quicksilver hesitated for a second, then cautiously reached through the opening.
Wanda extended her own hand, and as the siblings' fingers touched, a spark of warmth flashed between them.
In the blink of an eye, Quicksilver blurred forward, passing cleanly through the warped space, and embraced Wanda tightly.
Behind them, the sound of Hydra soldiers echoed through the halls.
Lock turned slightly. "There'll be a bit of noise in a minute. Let's discuss the details once we're outside."
He raised his hand—and struck the ceiling.
With a deafening boom, the earth erupted like a volcano. Soil and debris shot into the air as Lock, Wanda, and Quicksilver emerged from the ground, wrapped safely in the protection of his divine shield.
Hydra soldiers burst into the dungeon seconds later, armed with high-tech energy rifles.
Some aimed at the newly opened tunnel, ready to pursue.
Others were drawn to the strange, warped cell door.
A few dared to reach through the shimmering distortion—curious to see if it was real.
That's when the void snapped shut.
The twisted geometry folded back into itself as Lock withdrew his energy.
The space collapsed inward—like a whirlpool sealing itself.
"Ah—!"
The soldier closest to the hole screamed as his arm vanished—sheared off instantly by the collapsing energy field. Sparks flared, and then—
BOOM!
The entire dungeon detonated in a chain reaction.
The energy containment field destabilized, vaporizing everything within seconds.
When the dust settled, the underground section had collapsed into a crater.
Quicksilver looked back in horror.
If he had hesitated even a second longer, he would've been reduced to ash like the rest.
He exhaled shakily and turned to Lock. "Wanda… who the hell is this guy?"
Wanda opened her mouth, "He's from S.H.I.E.L.D.—"
"What?!" Quicksilver's expression darkened. "You mean—he's with Stark and the others?!"
Before Lock could respond, a gust of silver light flashed—Wanda and Quicksilver vanished.
A second later, Quicksilver reappeared alone, racing around Lock in a blur of motion.
He was testing him. Watching. Measuring.
Lock stood motionless, eyes calm. Cautious little fool, he thought. He didn't even let her finish her sentence.
Well, if the boy wanted to dance, then dance he would.
Seeing that Lock remained still, Quicksilver gained confidence.
Like lightning, he shot in from behind—only to find himself face-to-face with Lock, who was smiling faintly.
"What—?!" Quicksilver stumbled. He hadn't even seen him move.
That's impossible.
He was faster than bullets—no one could turn that quickly.
Except… this one just had.
Quicksilver veered sharply, his feet digging trenches into the ground as he launched another attack.
This time, as he approached, a large hand lashed out toward his neck.
"Whoa—!"
The air itself cracked with the sound of a sonic boom as Lock's hand sliced through the space he had just occupied.
Quicksilver pushed himself harder, his legs blurring into twin spirals of motion, barely slipping past the strike.
Even so, the shockwave scraped his skin, stinging like fire.
He smirked breathlessly. Too close. But not enough to catch me.
He thought he'd dodged at the last second.
In truth, Lock had let him go.
If Lock had wanted to, he could have increased his speed tenfold and crushed the boy mid-run.
But instead, he was curious.
He had noticed something—something fascinating about the nature of Quicksilver's speed.
Lock's own velocity came from raw power—each burst of movement generated a crater beneath his feet, propelled by divine force.
It was sheer strength, tearing through air and earth alike. Every acceleration created sonic booms, the earth trembling underfoot.
But Quicksilver's movement was… different.
He ran at multiple times the speed of sound—but without any explosive noise, without even stirring the air.
It was as if he existed between the moments of motion—flowing through the world like a current of wind.
Lock's eyes gleamed. So that's it.
Quicksilver's speed didn't come from force—it came from an energy field that insulated him from inertia.
He wasn't pushing against the world. He was slipping through it.
Lock closed his eyes, concentrating.
If I can mimic that flow… I can move faster without tearing the world apart.
If successful, he could surpass even his current limits—moving faster than sound, faster than light—perhaps even like Captain Marvel, who could traverse the stars with her physical body.
Quicksilver saw him close his eyes mid-fight and bristled.
"Oh, so you're ignoring me now?"
His expression darkened. "You asked for it!"
He blurred into motion—so fast that it seemed like dozens of Quicksilvers attacked at once.
To Wanda, watching from afar, Lock appeared utterly still.
But from Quicksilver's perspective, countless hands burst out of Lock's body—each one swiping, blocking, deflecting his every path.
"Are you a damn hedgehog?!" Quicksilver shouted, frustrated. "Stand still and fight me!"
Lock's ears twitched.
And then—he smiled.
At several times the speed of sound, Quicksilver's voice shouldn't have been audible to anyone.
But Lock had heard it as clearly as if they were speaking face-to-face.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
The mechanism of Quicksilver's speed unfolded in his mind like an equation.
Lock opened his eyes, glowing with faint silver light. "As you wish."
The world seemed to slow.
Quicksilver blinked—once.
And suddenly, Lock was standing right in front of him, less than an arm's length away.
Close enough to grab him in a single breath.
Quicksilver's heart skipped. His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He's faster than me.
For the first time, Quicksilver was truly afraid.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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