POV: Baldur
Downtown Los Angeles, California
Simultaneously
2015
It's not every day that you come face-to-face with the devil from the Bible. Mephisto isn't actually the biblical demon who was once God's favorite son, but he certainly fits the illusion perpetuated by Earth's mortals ever since the creation of the "Devil."
The truth is, he's an extra-dimensional demon who has his own dimension called Hell. Although it isn't the Hell of Christian religion, he names his realm "Hell" to exploit human belief in a singular embodiment of absolute evil.
His power level far exceeds that of Balthakk. His magical abilities rival those of a supreme sorcerer. He is immortal, and his reality manipulation can shape this entire universe. But he has weaknesses too—his greatest is his dependence on his dimension. When he is in the physical world, he weakens rapidly.
"So, you're the one responsible for all this chaos?" I ask him, showing no fear.
The red demon with black hair and a red cloak smiles at me with his sharp teeth and replies.
"Actually, this was a favor for my Lady, but I won't deny I had a lot of fun doing it," he says, grinning.
In the comics, and apparently in this reality too, Mephisto is a servant of Death. Once again, I find myself in a dire situation because of that woman's manipulation.
"It doesn't matter, you've failed," I tell him.
"Have I really? Here you are in front of me, wounded and in such a weakened state, probably for the first time in your short life."
The Devil was right. This whole fight had left me in a state of utter weakness. Even though I possess nearly unlimited energy, there is still a limit to my body. That limit was reached after my last attack. Any attempt to access my powers now would destroy my body.
"I have allies. I don't need to fight you directly."
"I've sealed this dimension. Your witch no longer has the power to control who enters or exits," he responds, still smiling.
(I expected that, but it was worth a try.)
"Therefore, you leave me no choice but to take the harder path."
"And what would that be? A desperate fight for your life?" he asks, now with a grin as wide as the Joker's.
"No, I'm going to use this!"
I open the palm of my hand and retrieve an object from my dimension. A red stone, shaped like a gem, appears floating in my hand. The Reality Gem, the Aether.
The moment the gem appears, Mephisto's smile freezes. I confess, I felt a bit of pleasure at that.
"You wouldn't dare. It's suicide!" he says to me.
He might be right. Using the Aether isn't an easy task, especially with a body as broken as mine right now.
"As you yourself said, I'm out of options," I say, smiling at my enemy.
I was saving the gem as a final trump card, in case the plan to defeat Galactus failed or the Puppet Master appeared after the battle.
"Even if you use the stone and end up killing yourself, you don't have enough resilience to kill me. Your body will be destroyed before that happens."
Once again, he's right. Mephisto is a being of immense power; to kill him, I would need to use the gem at my best, and even then, it might not be enough.
"You speak the truth. In my current state, I couldn't kill you, only wound you," I say, causing the demon's smile to return.
"But I don't need to kill you to win this fight. All I have to do is sever your connection to your reality!"
Once again, my words erase the smile from his face, so I continue.
"Without access to the energy of your dimension, or the ability to return to it, you will become just a mortal in a few hours. You will then be captured and left to die in a cage."
"You wouldn't dare!" he shouts at me.
"Do you want to test me and find out?"
I ask, closing my hand around the stone. Instantly, my wrist and arm show red lines of the stone's energy coursing through my body. Now, all I need is a thought to activate the stone and mold reality to my will—if I can survive its activation.
"Well played, very well played," says Mephisto after a few seconds of staring into my eyes.
He then makes a simple salute with his hand on his chest and continues speaking with his head bowed.
"You played perfectly, King of Genosha, but even if you escape your fate today, you cannot escape the collective destiny of all Norse gods."
After saying these words, Mephisto vanishes from in front of me.
I place the stone back in my dimension and sit on the ground to finally catch my breath. Even though his last words indicate he will somehow initiate Ragnarok, this was expected. Whether it's him or someone else starting the event, it changes nothing.
{Baldur?} I then hear Amora's voice.
Before I can respond, the space beside me distorts, and she appears, wearing her green outfit and holding her staff. She looks at me with fear, which then turns to relief when she sees I am well.
"I'm fine, Amora. Our guest has already left," I tell her, reassuringly.
"I couldn't see anything. I had control stolen from me. If it weren't for the Ancient One, I would have forced open a passage," Amora says with some anger.
"If you had used that method—" Suddenly, a ring of fire appears beside us, and the Ancient One steps through the portal.
"Things would not have ended so peacefully," she continues.
"Thank you once again for your help, Ancient One. If it weren't for your magicians, the damage would have been worse."
"I was just doing my duty as one of this world's protectors," she says politely.
"Is everyone alright?" I ask, looking at Amora.
"Everyone is fine. Only that witch was a bit too injured. Galactus drained her energy, leaving her weakened. She'll need a few days to return to her peak," Amora replies.
"Great."
It was thanks to Carol that we managed to execute the plan. If she hadn't held off Galan alone for a few seconds, I wouldn't have been able to get to space.
"Should I remove the barrier?" Amora then asks.
It's time. Everything that happened since the barrier was erected has been hidden from the outside world. As soon as we remove it, the whole world will witness this destruction.
"Wait a moment." I was about to say yes, but then I saw Galactus's blood still on the ground.
I can't rebuild the city quickly or bring back all the lost lives, but I can at least change the scene of devastation before me.
"Amora, Ancient One, I need your help with one more thing."
I was too weak to perform magic, so with their help, we spread Galan's blood throughout the city. His blood is pure cosmic energy, so it won't take long for this destroyed land to become a forest. This is the best I can do for now.
POV: Baldur
King's Chamber, Royal Castle of Genosha
Five Days Later
2015
I rise from my bed with my muscles aching all over, feeling as though I've been asleep for years. I'm wearing only pants, no shirt. I notice that my previously destroyed arm and shoulder have finally been reconstructed.
After returning to Genosha, I discovered my injuries were more severe than I had thought. So, Amora suggested entering a spell similar to the Odinsleep. I don't have access to the Odinforce, but I do have access to my own dimension, so I can use this spell.
This spell was a much weaker version than Odin's, but it served its purpose well. While asleep, I healed all my injuries.
"Alice," I say out loud.
"It's good to see you awake, sir," says the voice of my AI.
"Where is Amora?" I ask.
Unlike the Odinsleep, where Odin remains frozen in his sleep but fully aware of his surroundings and what's happening in all the realms, mine was more like a long night's sleep. I need to be updated.
"After ensuring your recovery, Lady Amora did not think it wise to remain in the territory from which she was banished, so she left the city," Alice replies.
For a moment, I forgot about her banishment. There's nothing to be done about that for now.
"Alice, what's the situation in the world?"
It takes a few minutes for me to get up to speed on the world's situation. It seems the confusion caused by the battle hasn't subsided. In fact, it has only increased. The entire world is frightened and panicking, even after Steve's statement about what happened and assurances that the enemy was defeated.
It's a global panic, and I don't blame them for it. The destruction began with the arrival of the heralds. Several cities worldwide suffered losses, but Japan suffered the most. The entire city was destroyed, and they're still counting the victims. The current count is already in the millions.
To make matters worse, images of Los Angeles have started to circulate, amplifying the fear even more. This is the first time the people of Earth have truly seen the real danger the universe poses.
But what really angers me are those taking advantage of this panic. The politicians who have always been against the Avengers are now shifting the blame for all these events onto us. Of course, they didn't report that they had been warned about the invasion but took no action.
The main argument from the media about our intentions is that our Space Base is equipped with planetary weapons that we used in the battle. Weapons that were not approved by them. The weapon in question is the one I used to defeat Galan.
The public, filled with fear and anger, needed a target for these emotions, a target that wasn't powerful enough to destroy Earth.
The politicians are already talking about new laws to regulate the Avengers, claiming that we are out of control.
"What a mess," I say out loud.
There's no point in trying to change public opinion right now. The public, who have always been on our side, have completely turned against us. The only thing we can do now is wait for everything to calm down before trying to regain the people's trust in the Avengers. But that definitely won't happen overnight. Meanwhile, the politicians will make their moves.
After catching up on the world's situation, I decided to check on Genosha. Before entering my slumber, I had ordered my people to return to their homes. The return happened more quickly and orderly than the evacuation, so it didn't take long for everything to return to normal in my city. Wakanda is also returning to its normal state.
"Sir, Miss Carol requests permission to enter," reports Alice.
"Let her in."
After the battle ended, everyone was busy taking care of the wounded. Carol was the most injured after me, so she came with me to Genosha. Before I entered my slumber, I authorized her to move freely around Genosha, excluding secret areas, of course.
"How was your beauty sleep?" she asks, immediately making me regret letting her into the room.
"I'm healed, if that's what you're asking," I respond, sitting up in bed and looking at her.
Carol is wearing her standard Kree uniform, in the colors of the Air Force.
"That's good," she says, approaching.
"Did you enjoy your stay in my kingdom?" I ask her.
"I loved it. I've visited many planets in the universe, but I never expected to find such an advanced place here on Earth."
Finally, she gives me a response that pleases me greatly.
"So, are you going back to the Skrulls now?" I ask.
"Yes, but first I want to visit some old friends."
Her old friends are Fury and Maria. I don't want to ruin my friendly relationship with her, so it's better for her to draw her own conclusions about Fury's changes.
"I gave you the authority to come and go as you please. If you haven't left yet, does that mean you were worried about me?" I ask, teasing.
Carol doesn't laugh or retort. She walks over to me, lowers herself, and brings her face close to mine.
"Yes," she simply replies.
Then she kisses me.
This is the second time she's kissed me. Like the first time, I'm shocked at first, but that feeling passes after a few seconds. Unlike the first time, I embrace her and return the kiss.
(T/N: I'm sorry for those of you that don't like this, I can't do anything)
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