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*****
Darkness.
Cold.
Death.
This was the world of the dead, the final resting place of souls — the place that appeared after Thanos' death: the realm of Death itself.
Thanos heard a voice.
It was familiar; not the first time he had heard it. Without a doubt, he was entranced by it.
Then he saw her.
Death.
What followed felt like a dream to the dead man — if a soul could still dream...
When that "dream" ended and he woke, he opened his eyes to find himself back in the familiar cosmos, standing upon a planet.
He looked down at his hands, felt the strength in his body, and whispered, "I'm resurrected?"
He fell silent for a moment, flexed his fists, and felt a power greater than before. The bewilderment in his eyes vanished; his gaze hardened into resolve.
Death...
Now that he had been returned, bringing death would become his sole pursuit.
The Infinity Stones were the fastest, most effective tool to bring about death.
Mike Kent. Odin.
Thinking of those two, a blaze of fury flared in Thanos' eyes.
Yet he could do nothing about it — neither of them were opponents he could handle alone.
He pondered, and then murmured, "The Avengers... an alliance?"
Yes — he needed help.
A thought unfurled in his mind; Thanos whispered it and then departed swiftly.
…
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The sudden ring of the doorbell made Raven look up in alarm. She put down her book and went to the door. When she opened it and saw Ororo standing there, a smile automatically blossomed on her face.
"Congratulations," Raven said, and embraced Ororo. She already knew the news.
Ororo nodded, moved, and her gaze involuntarily dropped to Raven's belly.
"I can't wait for this little one to arrive," Ororo murmured.
She then introduced T'Challa standing behind her. "T'Challa, my fiancé."
"Raven — a teacher at X School," Raven replied with a smile, then hurried them inside.
Ororo peeked in cautiously; when she didn't see Mike, she relaxed and let out a quiet breath.
Raven laughed. "Is he that scary?"
"Not scary — reverent," Ororo said with clear respect.
Raven smiled. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Water is fine," T'Challa replied, and his eyes swept the Kent home with a quick, discreet curiosity. He was surprised inwardly.
This is Mike Kent's house?
He hadn't expected it to look so ordinary.
"Surprised?" Ororo asked softly. "I was when I first came, too."
When Raven returned with two glasses of water, T'Challa politely said, "Thank you, Mrs. Kent."
Raven paused, then a bright smile lit her face. The more she looked at T'Challa, the more she liked him.
Once Raven sat down, Ororo took an invitation from her bag and handed it over.
Raven glanced at the date and said, surprised, "So soon?"
Counting it up, there was less than half a month.
"Yes," Ororo explained. "Wakanda needs a king."
Raven nodded and placed the invitation aside.
"By the way, where's Mr. Kent?" T'Challa asked, curious.
"He's out seeing to the child," Raven said.
"Seeing the child?"
…
Several hours earlier.
Gwen had packed her luggage and said farewell to Mike and Raven, then rode off with Harry in his car.
It was Saturday; at Harry's invitation Gwen and some friends were taking Osborn's private plane down to a beach in Hawaii. For someone who owned a private jet, Hawaii was no more special than a park.
As soon as the plane landed, the kids were full of energy. Harry's chauffeured car took them to the shore and they rushed into the sea.
Although spring hadn't yet come to New York, Hawaii felt like summer.
Blue skies, a slightly humid sea breeze on their faces — all the tangible heat of summer in an instant.
On the beach Harry, Peter, and Luke waited with impatience.
"Getting girls changed sure takes forever," Luke muttered under his breath. He could hardly wait to plunge into the water.
"That's normal — girls take their time," Peter said, glancing at Luke's obvious muscles and then at his own thin frame with envy.
Harry tapped both of their heads, pushed his sunglasses down, and nodded toward the sun-kissed bodies dotting the sand. "Before they're ready, let's appreciate the view. We're men now."
Luke sneered at Harry and then stared out at the sea, ready to dive in.
Peter blushed crimson, quickly turning his head away and staring at the parked cars instead.
Harry shook his head. "You two have no appreciation for manly pleasure."
"Hah."
Luke suddenly gave a cold laugh, aimed at Harry's lower half. "How can you call yourself a man when you don't even have—"
"Ah! Shut up!" Harry yelped, clamping Luke's mouth and blushing furiously. The two of them writhed like eels, rolling across the sand while Peter watched helplessly.
These guys—men? Hardly.
"They're coming!" Peter exclaimed, and his gaze snapped back to Gwen. He couldn't tear his eyes away.
Gwen wore a one-piece short dress swimsuit and a bright smile, brimming with youthful vitality.
Compared to Gwen, Mary Jane's swimsuit was far hotter.
She wore a bikini. Although modest against adult styles, it still showcased her figure more than most girls her age.
Gwen eyed Mary Jane's suit with a flush. She couldn't pull off that look yet — and Mary Jane had developed early.
Gwen looked down at herself and sighed.
"Hurry up, you two!" Luke called impatiently.
Harry glanced at Luke in silent disbelief.
This kid was hopeless.
"We're ready," Mary Jane said apologetically, fixing her hair.
"Not a problem," Harry laughed, glancing at Peter who was still frozen staring at Gwen. He slapped Peter's back hard.
"Peter, stop gawking — you're drooling!" Harry teased.
Peter instinctively wiped his mouth and shouted at Harry, "Harry!"
"Ha ha!" Harry laughed and sprinted toward the waves. Peter and Luke chased after him.
Mary Jane watched Harry's retreating back — her fondness plainly on display. Since her mother began working at Osborn's company and she had figured some things out, she'd found herself warming increasingly to Harry.
"What are you thinking, little beauty?" Gwen giggled, pinching Mary Jane's chin.
Mary Jane blushed. "Nothing."
"Heh heh!" Gwen snickered and was playfully slapped.
"Come on — I'll take you to the sea. Today's mine for you, dear Mary!" Gwen shouted, yanking Mary Jane toward the water.
They laughed as they barreled into the ocean, spattering the three boys with seawater. A full-fledged water fight erupted.
While they played, no one noticed the enormous creature racing from the seabed toward the shore.
A monstrous crocodile — hundreds of meters long. This was far beyond the size any normal crocodile could reach.
It devoured everything in its path to fill the empty, ravenous stomach that was growing at an alarming rate. It roared like a lunatic.
"Splash!"
Gwen popped her head out of the water, wiped her face, and scanned for her friends. She asked, "Where are Luke and Harry?"
"There," Mary Jane pointed.
Luke was swimming fast, chasing Harry who clung to a surfboard.
"Ha ha! Follow me and drink my wash-water!" Luke laughed, splashing Harry with his legs.
"Damn you! Stand still — I'll teach you a lesson!" Harry yelled, only to get more seawater in his face.
He howled and pursued him.
Harry's face suddenly changed. That guy was swimming too fast!
He pumped his limbs frantically, but noticed the sounds behind him had ceased.
Just then, Peter shouted from afar, "Harry, watch out!"
"Huh??"
Before he could process it, a shape shot up from the water and knocked him off his surfboard.
"Ha ha! Harry — you're done for!" Luke crowed as he pinned Harry under the water.
Harry struggled; Luke, the strongest among them, had the upper hand.
At that moment Harry glimpsed a huge moving shadow beneath the water racing toward them.
He slapped Luke; Luke let Harry's head surface. "Surrender?" Luke sneered.
"No — there's something huge out there!" Harry pointed. "A whale or something?"
"No way!" Luke frowned. "How would something like that be here?"
He pressed Harry under again, laughing, "Don't try to distract me!"
Harry flailed underwater and suddenly grabbed Luke's swim trunks, yanking them down hard.
Luke's face turned red; he grabbed at his trunks as Harry bobbed up from the water.
Suddenly alarms wailed in the distance.
A warning, telling people to evacuate the water at once.
"What's happening?" the group cried.
A massive splash erupted and a huge gaping maw burst from the sea. Water poured from that bloody mouth, and swimmers screamed as they were swallowed whole.
Everyone recoiled in shock and hurried away, while those nearest the beast frantically swam for the shore.
But—
Boom!
The monstrous maw slammed back into the sea, sending waves that hurled people bodily; then the beast's enormous bulk surfaced like a moving mountain, bearing down on the shore with terrifying weight.
"Run!" Gwen shouted.
Mary Jane and Peter, still relatively close to shore, were comparatively safe. But Harry and Luke were in imminent danger — they would be eaten and become the monster's mess if nothing changed.
Gwen scanned the throng of people teetering on the monster's jaws, her eyes flashing. Without hesitation she dove into the sea, morphing beneath the surface into a spirit of vengeance.
Blue flames ignited around her; as flesh melted like snow she donned a suit of battle armor.
In the blink of an eye she streaked through the water like a blue comet toward the crocodilian behemoth.
Noticing the blue line slicing through the waves, Peter and Mary Jane ran to retrieve their gear. Mary Jane tightened her fists with worry for Harry and Luke.
Boom! Boom!
The sea roared as the beast thrashed, a sound that chilled the marrow.
Luke and Harry swam desperately, but the creature bore down.
Then a blue flame flashed between them, and before they could react they were hurled backward by an immense force and pushed away from the beast.
It was Gwen.
They scrambled to the shore and turned to look.
A blue, flame-clad figure vaulted from the water and, as the beast lunged at the swimmers, Gwen dragged a rope of azure light and crashed down onto its head.
As she landed, a blue flame rose up like a rose blooming atop the creature's skull.
"Hiss!"
The beast roared, its skull smashing down on the water; its gaping mouth snapped shut.
But the flame on its head burned ferociously even underwater.
The hunger and pain sent the creature into a frenzied rage. It rolled and churned the sea, creating a violent underwater tempest.
If that were all, it still wouldn't pose much threat to Gwen.
Yet at that instant, torrents of frost energy leaked from the beast's body, coating it in an icy armor. That frozen power touched the seawater and began to freeze it aggressively.
Gwen froze in place.
What the hell was this? Another superpower?
A blast of frost energy shot from the beast's maw, and Gwen was encased — frozen solid inside a block of ice.
(End of chapter)