"You…"
Elsa's eyes blazed with fury. She looked as if she could tear Verussa apart with her bare hands.
Behind Verussa, two figures stepped forward—Old Black and the Asian swordsman. Both had clearly chosen to follow her and become her lapdogs.
Lucas got to his feet and walked up to Verussa, facing her smug, self-satisfied expression.
"You'd better let us out now. I can choose not to hold you accountable. How about it?"
He spoke calmly, even politely.
Verussa curled her lip in contempt.
"Oh? Pretty boy, you think you get to speak here? Know your place."
"You really don't know what's good for you."
A flash of light flickered in Lucas' palm—Judgement materialized instantly.
BANG! BANG!
Verussa's arms exploded into bloody mist, and the Bloodstone clattered to the ground.
Judgement worked on her because the Bloodstone had already altered her body—granting her its power, pulling her out of the realm of ordinary humans.
Elsa reacted quickly, snatching up the Bloodstone and placing it back around her neck.
The instant the two halves merged, a surge of power made her gasp sharply.
The tide of strength roaring through her veins made her feel as if she could punch straight through a car.
Gripping the metal bars of the cage, she gave the slightest twist—
and the bars bent like soft clay, opening a wide gap instantly.
Verussa shrieked in agony on the floor, but Elsa spared her only a single cold glance.
Old Black and the Asian swordsman panicked and turned to flee—
but the ceiling above them suddenly shattered.
A massive figure dropped down, landing before them—
the returning Man-Thing.
He grabbed them—one in each hand.
"NO—PLEASE—!!"
Their terror ignited his power.
Green flames engulfed them instantly, reducing both to ash.
"Ted!"
Jack rushed over, throwing his arms around the creature.
"You're okay—I'm so glad!"
The Man-Thing nodded and picked Jack up.
"We'll be going. Thank you for saving us. Ted and I will return to the gateway and hide there. Until we meet again!"
Jack waved at Lucas and Elsa. The Man-Thing leaped into the night and vanished.
Elsa exhaled deeply. She turned toward Verussa—now trembling, eyes full of terror.
"Elsa… don't kill me… I… I was just—"
Before she could finish, Elsa picked up Old Black's fallen machete and beheaded her in one clean stroke.
"Old hag. You should go keep Father company."
She tossed the blade aside and returned to sit before the fireplace.
The old butler stepped forward silently, placing two glasses of wine beside her, then stood respectfully behind her.
---
A few days later, Lucas was slumped over his desk at the agency, half-asleep from boredom.
Skye busied herself with her computers—she'd taken a big contract upgrading a financial firm's entire system.
Wanda was wiping down the trophy display case, which now held several new "souvenirs" Lucas had taken from the Bloodstone Manor.
The two girls worked.
Lucas alone had nothing to do, sprawled over the desk like he was hibernating.
Since returning from the manor, Elsa had said her farewells and resumed her life as a monster hunter.
Matt and Frank had taken on a new legal case.
Peter and Gwen were studying in Boston.
And Natasha… well, no one had seen her in ages.
The only noteworthy update was that Tony had finished upgrading the Quinjet.
Not only was it equipped with a full arsenal, but its power source had been replaced with an Arc Reactor—giving it exponentially increased output.
"God, I'm bored! Doesn't anyone have a job for me?! Anything?!"
Lucas yelled.
Skye and Wanda didn't even bother looking up.
"You're used to this. In your case, sitting there until you grow cobwebs seems more your style."
Skye said this while typing rapidly.
Lucas' legendary laziness was well known.
Everyone close to him knew he would stay still if he could, the office a chaotic mess—always cleaned by Wanda and Skye in alternating shifts.
---
Meanwhile, in the endless reaches of space—
On a nameless meteor, a glowing purple-skinned titan sat upon a throne.
Beside him stood a pale, noseless, horse-faced alien.
"Go to Earth. Bring me the stone."
The Titan spoke softly, eyes fixed on the stars.
"Earth has many powerful beings. And Odin still watches over it. If it's just me—"
A figure in green robes stood behind him—
Loki, the second prince of Asgard, lost after falling from the shattered Bifrost.
Thanos didn't respond.
He waved his hand lightly, and Ebony Maw stepped forward with a strange scepter in hand.
"This scepter holds a stone. It will let you control the minds of those insects on Earth."
Loki reached out to take it—
but Ebony Maw pulled it back teasingly.
"Do not disappoint the master. Your fate will be… unpleasant if you do."
He spat the warning coldly.
He trusted no one's loyalty but his own.
Loki said nothing. He took the scepter quietly.
"Take the Chitauri army. They will help you conquer Earth.
I only want the stone. Remember our bargain."
Thanos still did not turn around.
The stars were the only thing in his eyes.
Loki stared into the same dark expanse, expression unreadable.
---
Back at the agency, Lucas' two little brothers were on break from school—
and causing chaos daily.
Lucas had chased them down and smacked them more than once.
But scolding did nothing; they'd promise to behave and start trouble again minutes later.
So Lucas deployed his ultimate weapon—
homework.
He had Skye order stacks of math worksheets online and dumped them in front of the boys, announcing that if they didn't finish, their allowance would be cut off.
At first the two didn't believe him—
but once their mother confirmed it, they had no choice.
With the family's finances in her hands, they became obedient little rabbits.
Lucas nodded in satisfaction and told Skye that if they acted up again, he'd escalate the workload until their entire break was consumed by studying.
In America, making an elementary school kid study was basically equivalent to execution.
Public schools fed them the "happy education" model—
which meant: they learned nothing, played all day, and were groomed to become easy prey for the elite-educated ruling class later in life.
The two boys were now discovering the horror of real education for the first time.
And Lucas?
Lucas was finally…
at peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~