Chương 231: Chapter 231
(Captain Marvel POV)
"I have heard tales of your prowess… Captain, and I can assure you that our battle will be long… and vigorous."
His voice was breathy and inviting, and I couldn't help but smile. It had been far too long since soone even half-decent tried to get into my pants. When you've fought as many people as I have, you develop a reputation that acts like a beacon for every lunatic in the galaxy.
They either want to sleep with or kill —usually in that order. Occasionally, the reverse.
I felt Sif's glare burning into the back of my neck. She clearly didn't appreciate flirting with her on-again, off-again boyfriend. I had no intention of taking Thor up on anything, but watching her seethe while he tossed shaless complints my way was the most fun I'd had since coming back to Earth.
"God damn it, you've got to be kidding ," Fury swore. I'd been tracking their conversation the whole ti. Loki's ploy was bold, even elegant, if his claims were true.
Did Dante really an to wage war on the demons alone? I'd spent ti studying him since that eting, and it was obvious he stood above every other demon I'd encountered. Sure, he wasn't quite at my level or his brother's, but he was resourceful, adept at all manner of esoteric magic—and now the owner of an infinity stone.
I'd read the thousand-year-old eyewitness report of the Power Stone being used. One blast had scourged the surface of an entire planet. I shook my head. That kind of power in the hands of a twenty-year-old… maybe I should have ignored Fury and forced him to hand it back. 1
"Fury, what's wrong?" I asked, taking two quick steps toward their huddle. Loki actually twitched at the speed, and the others weren't much better.
"Our new satellite near rcury is transmitting images of a fight," he said, taking the holographic tablet from Hill. The screen was a standard Xandarian model—one of the many technologies I'd acquired in bulk for Earth. High-grade combat suits, satellites capable of light-speed transmissions, energy weapons, stable infrastructure. The shipnts were still flowing through the newly activated Jump Gate orbiting Earth.
The images were rough—blurs of blue and purple streaks, silhouettes flaring and vanishing, a mountain exploding under a beam of impossible intensity. The atmosphere blood with energy. The surface ruptured like a volcanic cataclysm. Purple flas washed over the terrain. Then the energy readings spiked—so potent I felt the residue even from Earth.
I recognized that aura imdiately.
"Vergil Sparda," I said quietly.
"The Moon Breaker?" Loki nearly squeaked.
"I need to go. Earth isn't safe. The solar system isn't safe. Dante might be strong, but he's no match for him."
"I will join you, fair warrior," Thor announced, already at my side, the rest of the Warriors Three following with weapons drawn.
I shook my head. "I prefer to go alone. Besides, you'd slow down. Can you even breathe in the vacuum of space?"
"Of course," Loki scoffed. "We're Asgardians."
"That doesn't solve the flight problem," I pointed out.
"I will have Heimdall take us with the Bifrost," Thor said.
I lifted off the ground, energy cloaking in a shimring layer of light. "Sounds like a plan. et you there."
I shot through the atmosphere with a soft hum and let loose the mont I hit space, becoming a cot of raw energy. Venus passed beneath in seconds. rcury lood shortly after—scarred, gouged, and shredded by impossible force. Mountains that had stood for a million years were gone. The planet reeked of cosmic discharge, but one I was familiar with.
The Space Stone had ignited my powers, and I was linked to it in a way that I couldn't fully describe. I would know if it'd been used on this planet.
Did Dante filter the energy sohow? Make it less potent to battle with?
No. This felt like sothing different entirely.
My eyes widened. He couldn't have? Could he?
Dante got his hands on another Infinity Stone?
How? When? And most importantly, which one?
A strange flickering rock so distance away answered that question for . It rapidly disintegrated, then reford and repeated the cycle twice more before it went inert.
Ti.
A pillar of rainbow light struck the ground nearby at an angle. The Asgardians erged, weapons tight in their grips, hungry for battle.
Thor blinked at the destruction.
"Looks like we missed the fun," Fandral said.
"Do you think he survived?" Sif asked. "I can't imagine many beings could survive this."
"Dante or the moon breaker?" Thor asked.
"Either," she said.
"Vergil is likely dead, or at least badly wounded," I said, leaping toward them. Even Vergil couldn't stand against an Infinity Stone.
"How can you be certain?" Volstagg asked, mustache trembling.
"A hunch," I said.
Loki focused, then cast a complex Asgardian spell. It unraveled instantly. He paled, and when our eyes t, I knew he recognized the Ti Stone's residue.
Thor grinned. "Music to my ears. Dante Sparda is an even greater warrior than I hoped. Perhaps he's worth fighting after all."
His companions stared at him, bewildered, while he simply admired the ruined horizon.
"What a sight," he said. "We should grace this world with a battle of our own." His eyes locked on . "What say you?"
"I say…I need to get back to SHIELD. I have duties."
"Another ti, then," he muttered, disappointnt clear.
I brushed it off and took flight, mind racing.
Dante now possessed two Infinity Stones. And I couldn't stop thinking Loki was right—just not about forcing Dante's hand. Antagonizing him seed like the worst possible approach, especially after seeing this level of destruction.
We needed a parley. So sort of agreent. And I needed to be the one who initiated it.
He's been burned by Fury, and heaven knew I didn't trust the man either.
Fury was far too eager for expansion and independence. Despite everything I'd already provided, he'd pushed for Xandarian scientists to help Ross finish a new generation of enhancent steroids—permanent boosts for soldiers. Dante had once offered the sa, and Fury had wisely declined, but I wasn't convinced Xandarian involvent was better. Their hunger for the formula rivaled Earth's. They had too many enemies. The Kree. The Demons.
And who knew what kind of soldiers they'd churn out?
Still, I couldn't fault them for wanting power.
Lauren—the enemy Fury whispered about like a ghost story—had been carving a bloody trail across the galaxy. Appearing in several places at once. Freeing the worst criminals alive. Recruiting monsters. Nova Corps had managed to kill a clone or two, but that barely slowed her.
It was past ti Earth set aside its differences and prepared for the fight ahead.
Especially while we still had Asgard's help.
I couldn't stay on Earth forever.
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