"Did the people you arranged for die?"
After The Other had dragged away the two bothersome "bodies," Lothar finally walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the thick, swirling mist below. Even in his current state, he couldn't see what was hidden beneath the mist.
"I need to warn you again..."
"Do not break my rules, son of Thanos."
A deep, raspy voice echoed, and Red Skull, with black flames burning in his eye sockets, appeared behind Lothar without warning.
"I thought he was dead." Lothar turned to face him without a hint of fear. His righteous attitude made the black flames in Red Skull's eye sockets flicker precariously.
Lothar truly believed Red Skull was dead; he had seen him get kicked off the cliff. Since the guide was dead, wasn't it only natural for him to arrange a new guide for the Soul Stone?
"Do not break my rules." Red Skull's face was grim. He couldn't imagine how Thanos had raised a creature like this.
If you want its power, you should at least play by its rules. If it weren't for his own wicked sense of humor, he would have left Vormir long ago and found a new place to hide.
He had wanted to see what Thanos and his son would do for him. Unfortunately, he had never waited for Thanos, only for a brash Lothar who constantly pushed him to the edge of his sanity.
"You never said that before."
Lothar's final glance before turning to leave made Red Skull grit his teeth in frustration.
"Your Highness Lothar."
"Are all the people arranged still dead? Keep an eye on Vormir, but you can skip the area halfway up the mountain." Back on his ship, Lothar took off his armor. The bruised skin on his right arm was glaringly obvious. Using the power of the Infinity Stones came at a price. This was also why Lothar hadn't killed Carol Danvers on the spot.
"Also, notify Proxima Midnight and tell her to take Ebony Maw and bring the army back."
"Tell them I don't have time for a handover right now."
"I have more important things to do." Lothar's gaze shifted from his bruised arm to the unconscious Carol...
.....
Darkness...
Pain...
Cold... shivering... trembling...
The cycle repeated again and again.
If it weren't for the clock on the wall, Carol might have forgotten what time it was. Her weak, pale face was barely kept from losing all color by a nutrient solution diluted to an unknown degree. The clean, bright cell was an inescapable nightmare for her.
"Cellular simulation experiment #91, failed."
Woz, wearing a lab coat, wrote a big "FAILED" on the report in his hand, then sighed and looked at the newly awakened Carol. Chains from the Black Quadrant held her limbs securely, and a special collar inhibitor from Woz was clamped around her fair neck.
"My sincerest apologies, Ms. Carol."
"Woz requires another sample for his experiment."
After neatly stacking the 91st failed report, Woz, with his short little legs, walked over to Carol.
"Can I refuse?" A sneer appeared on Carol's pale face, but the moment she clenched her fists, a crippling current of electricity shot through her.
"Ahhhh!!!"
A mournful wail was impossible to suppress. Woz, with his hands in his pockets and his innocent-looking eyes blinking, patiently waited for the convulsing Carol to calm down before he began to work.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Ms. Carol." Holding a test tube full of the experimental sample, Woz politely bowed to the collapsed Carol Danvers. If she hadn't been bound by chains, Carol would have torn this annoying robotic cat in two.
"Where is your master... that Lothar?"
Not having seen Lothar in the prison/laboratory for two days, Carol managed to suppress her convulsions and asked weakly.
"Your Highness Lothar has gone to attend Lady Hela's coronation." The tireless Woz continued to work diligently at his lab station, and when his samples ran out, he would take more from Carol. This left her so weak her body felt like it was about to fall apart, her face pale and her body completely drained...
.....
In the cosmos, Asgard.
With her hair washed and styled, her eyeshadow and blush on, Hela put on the magnificent dress that had been prepared for her. She appeared deep in the dungeon before her mother, Frigga. To be precise, she held a mirror in front of Frigga. In the mirror, the grand hall of the Asgardian palace was visible.
"From today on, you are no longer the Queen of Asgard, Mother."
"Because I am the new ruler of Asgard."
"The ruler of Asgard is your brother Thor, not you, Hela." Frigga, whose spirits were low from worrying about Thor, shook her head in denial.
"..." The joy in Hela's eyes slowly vanished.
"Then you just watch, Frigga." Hela's face went cold as she left the dungeon again, having gained nothing.
She didn't understand why Frigga still wouldn't support her. Was it because she wasn't her biological child? Was it because Thor was her real son? She didn't understand.
In terms of military merit and prestige, she far surpassed her brother. So why... why not only Odin, but Frigga too...
Standing outside the palace, gazing at the beautiful lands of Asgard, Hela's eyes grew colder.
"Your Majesty, we have detected the presence of 'the Lothar' outside the Rainbow Bridge."
"...I understand." Hela waved her hand, signaling her subordinate to leave. After composing herself, Hela began to walk toward the Rainbow Bridge.
He has a very punctual sense of timing. Hela's emotional wound from Frigga was stitched up by the timely arrival of Lothar.
When she arrived at the Rainbow Bridge portal, she saw Lothar, in a loose-fitting black suit, and his memorable lackey "passing by."
Hmm?
She had only expected two people, but Hela saw a third figure behind The Other.
"Just passing through?" Hela asked with a smile, looking at Lothar.
"Just passing through." Lothar stared directly into Hela's eyes.
"Care to explain?" Hela's gaze fell upon Thor, who was bound in chains and gagged with a metal muzzle.
"Just passing through. We bumped into him."
"Mmph! Mmph!" Thor's eyes widened, his emotions in turmoil. He struggled to say a word.
"Mmph! Mmph mph!!!"
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