"I told you not to mess around!"
Hearing the researcher's screams, Ronak immediately rushed forward and yanked out the power cord.
The moment the resonator lost power, the jellyfish, eels, and other dimensional creatures vanished from sight.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to check on the injured researcher.
Only Lynn looked faintly disappointed.
The progress bar for absorbing the Power of Death had been rising rapidly—if it had lasted just a little longer, he might have fully activated the Harbinger of Death identity and unlocked a new ability.
Still, those jellyfish and eel-like beings were clear in his memory.
They were nearly identical to the ones circling the translucent undead he had seen at the store entrance.
Could that ghost have been Professor Wilson's soul?
But why would it appear there?
Lynn pondered for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to the researcher.
"He's not breathing!"
The man's screams had stopped, and his heartbeat and pulse were gone.
Steve Rogers sat on the ground, his face full of regret.
As the Power of Death flowed through his eyes, Lynn saw that the researcher's soul had already been devoured by the jellyfish and eel-like entities.
"I told you not to mess around... sigh.."
Ronak walked over and stared at the corpse. "Professor Wilson died the same way, except he was bitten on the head by a demon with ram horns."
Slumping to the floor, Ronak buried his face in his hands. "I was terrified. After pulling the plug, I tried to call for help, but there was no signal at all.
When I finally managed to crawl out of the room, I felt completely drained, like all my strength had been taken from me. I only got a signal again ten hours later."
Hearing this, Natasha placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The resonator already proves that not everything you said was false.. Even though we didn't see that horned creature, S.H.I.E.L.D. will find a way to help you regain your freedom."
"Freedom?"
Ronak looked down at his hands and gave a hollow laugh. "A man who eats human brains when he's hungry... even if I'm free, I'll only bring death to more innocent people."
He let himself collapse completely. "I've fallen from a devout believer in God to a servant of the devil. I don't deserve freedom."
Watching the broken man, Natasha frowned slightly, then turned toward Lynn by the window.
Walking over, she asked quietly, "What are you doing?"
"Testing what Ronak said."
Lynn handed his phone to Natasha. "See for yourself—he was telling the truth. There's no signal at all."
Taking the phone, Natasha checked and confirmed that the screen showed zero reception.
She then pulled out her own SHIELD satellite-linked device, only to find that even it had no signal.
"Also, Agent Natasha," Lynn said with a faint smile, "try sticking your hand out the window."
Though puzzled, Natasha did as he asked.
The moment her arm extended past the window frame, a wave of numbness and weakness spread through it, sapping her strength.
Only when she withdrew her hand did the sensation fade.
"Looks like Ronak was right," Lynn said casually. "Seems we're stuck here for the next ten hours."
He sighed. "What a shame. The California Field Women's Orchestra has a performance in New York tonight. I even made dinner plans with their lead singer. Guess I'll have to cancel."
Natasha chuckled. "Oh~ Is she beautiful? More beautiful than me?"
"She's not bad," Lynn replied with an easy grin. "She's got that wild spark—that's what makes her so captivating. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been the one who encouraged her to chase her musical dreams."
"I see…" Natasha's lips curved into a teasing smile as she lightly tapped his arm. "Call me Natasha, by the way. I'll tell you something later."
Natasha then walked over to Steve and explained everything that had just happened.
After hearing her out, Steve decided to test it himself. Even with the strength granted by the super-soldier serum, the moment his arm passed through the window, a wave of soreness and weakness washed over it, leaving him visibly unsettled.
"Everyone, since we can't leave for now, please evacuate the laboratory," Steve ordered. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will have the resonator transported out first thing tomorrow morning once the signal returns. Until then, no one is to touch the resonator again."
The researchers exchanged uneasy glances but ultimately nodded and left the lab in an orderly line.
Half an hour later, in the kitchen—
"I hate macaroni."
Lynn leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching Natasha pour milk into a pot of macaroni on the stove.
"Agent Natasha, you didn't call me over here just to make me compliment your cooking, did you?"
"Of course not."
Natasha gave the pot a slow stir, then turned to glance at him over her shoulder. "You're… different. When I specifically requested your help, it wasn't just because you caught my attention during that bar encounter. You're interesting—too calm, too perceptive. That's not something I see often."
"Also, because you were the first to uncover this case."
Natasha paused for a moment, her tone growing more serious. "But when the resonator activated just now, I saw… so many images. Did you see them too?"
"What do you mean?"
Hearing that, Lynn's interest was instantly piqued.
"I'm not sure," Natasha admitted, shaking her head slightly. "I don't even know if what I saw were things that might happen in the future."
She pointed toward the next room. "You know how the resonator stimulates the pineal gland—awakening it and enhancing sensory perception, letting people see entities from other dimensions, right?"
Lynn stayed quiet, listening intently.
"When the resonator was activated, I felt a sharp pain in my forehead, and then… my senses just exploded. Everything became sharper, clearer. And then, those visions started appearing before my eyes."
"It was strange—unreal. In one of them, I was standing on a dark cliff. Clint—Hawkeye—was holding on to me, begging me not to jump."
Her voice softened, almost imperceptibly. "But I did. I jumped."
"That wasn't the only one. In another vision, you appeared. I was falling again, but this time, when a glowing gem appeared, you pulled me away from a skeleton—like you saved me from it."
"And then," Natasha continued, "a man with purple skin appeared. You, the Avengers, and countless others were fighting side by side. You were… incredibly powerful."
Her brows furrowed slightly as she tried to recall more. "And I clearly remember—you were flying. You were fighting in the air against a man wearing a green hood and an iron mask. Below you, all the Avengers were lying on the ground."
She tapped her temple lightly. "Tell me, do you think what I saw was a vision of the future—or just a hallucination?"
Lynn's expression shifted slightly, genuine surprise flickering in his eyes.
The scenes she described… they sounded like glimpses of the future.
Jumping off the cliff—that was how one obtained the Soul Stone.
But if she saw him taking her away from a skeleton… could that skeleton be the embodiment of Death in this universe?
And...
The guy in the green robe and iron mask... could it be Dr. Victor Von Doom?
________
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