You can read early chapters on my [P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N].
Link: [email protected]/Arson09
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Inside the Bar:
"What is that?" Lorelei commented, her voice unbothered as the sound of gunfire erupted from outside. It seemed the police officers she had under her control had engaged Coulson's team.
"Well, we seem to have caught the attention of the law," replied Daniel, the leader of the biker gang.
"You swore to fight for me," Lorelei reminded him.
"Yeah, and I will, but they've got a lot of firepower out there. I mean, hell, they've even got some medieval chick... she has a sword and everything," Daniel countered.
The color drained from Lorelei's face as she muttered, "Sif."
Moments later, Sif burst through the front door.
"Lorelei. Still manipulating men to do your dirty work, I see," Sif spoke, stepping into the center of the bar as Lorelei's men surrounded her.
"And I see you are still a step or two behind," Lorelei remarked.
"You know how this ends, Lorelei. Come in willingly," Sif added.
"You mistake me for someone who fears you. I have bested you before—or have you forgotten?" Lorelei asked with a smug smile. "Tear her apart!"
At her command, the men nearest to Sif discharged their shotguns. The blast only caused her to flinch back a single step. Sif began backhanding men through the walls and others through the doors; one even received the "ceiling treatment."
Seeing her men dismantled one by one, Lorelei made her retreat through the back door.
Agent Grant Ward could be seen mapping out the rear of the bar when Daniel suddenly attacked him from behind with a heavy metal chain.
Ward ducked the initial strike but lost his ICER in the process. "I'm sure you're a very reasonable guy," he muttered.
He ducked the next incoming attack and punched Daniel square in the face.
"Rooster? A rooster, really?" Ward mocked, referencing the Dogs of Hell MC logo.
Daniel went for the stomach, Ward Ducked and delivered a punch in his chest, then one more on his face.
Daniel was strong, but Ward was an agent with years of specialized training and experience. Within the next few exchanges, Ward successfully knocked him unconscious.
As Ward was in the process of retrieving his ICER, Lorelei descended gracefully from the roof above. Ward spun around instantly, his weapon trained directly on her heart.
"You are a fine warrior," she remarked, her voice dripping with silk.
"I am," Ward replied, his grip tightening on the pistol. "So put your hands behind your back and get on your knees right now."
"Men kneel before me," Lorelei countered, closing the distance as she approached Ward. "I do not bow to them."
"I need some backup over here..." Ward managed to grate out, though he seemed to be visibly struggling just to form the words.
"That is not what you need," Lorelei reaffirmed, her fingers brushing against his hand.
Agent Grant Ward fell instantly under Lorelei's command. His gaze went vacant as he echoed her. "Yes... That's not what I need..."
Just as the pair were about to make their escape, Ethan strolled into the area.
With his left hand, he was dragging a man in a white shirt by the back of his collar, trailing him like luggage.
Even though Ward was facing Lorelei and Ethan was approaching from the opposite side, the agent's eyes widened from pure instinct. But before he could properly turn, Ethan was already beside him, delivering a simple backflick with his right hand.
Agent Grant Ward flew backward, landing with a heavy thud against the opposite wall before sliding down, completely unconscious.
Ethan looked at the unconscious Ward.
"Tora," Ethan spoke through their mental link.
"I'm on it," Tora replied.
Then he turned towards Lorelei.
"So, you are Lorelei, huh?" Ethan spoke, his eyes devoid of emotion. "Tell me, did you kill this guy?"
He had found the body near the white sedan; a quick look told him the man had died from his rib cage caving in—pure, blunt force trauma.
Lorelei seemed startled by his sudden arrival, but she quickly composed herself and followed his gesture.
"Ah... yes. Poor Timmy... or was it Jimmy? I don't really remember. Ooh...But I do remember his wife. A lovely girl, really. But alas, he chose to serve me, his true love."
"Is that so?" Ethan asked, stepping closer.
"Oh, yes... and you will serve me too, won't you?" Lorelei asked, bringing her hand up to rest against Ethan's chest.
Ethan and Lorelei locked eyes until he finally let go of Jimmy's remains. He brought his left hand up, interlacing his fingers with Lorelei's as they rested on his chest.
Clunk.
The wheel in Ethan's shadow spun once.
"Questioning you was my fault," Ethan said, his voice dropping an octave. "I forget sometimes that people like you are simply a curse."
Then, he applied pressure.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
"AHHHHHHH! LET GO! LET GO, YOU BRUTE!" Lorelei shrieked, raining punches down on Ethan.
He simply tanked the pillow punches with a smile on his face.
Finally, Ethan let go of her fingers, but only to grab her wrist and jerk her closer. She saw his punch coming a split second before her entire scene shifted.
The scorching desert heat was replaced by the soothing, cool breeze of spring. Lorelei's eyes widened as she recognized a familiar Feline.
"Vidar? Is that you, Vidar?" she whispered.
Since she was a little girl, Lorelei had been chastised by her peers for her unnatural ability to bend the minds of men.
Her father had always looked at her with a mixture of fear and disgust, while her mother simply stood silently beside him.
Vidar was my one and only friend—the only being who interacted with me without that lingering dread, she remembered.
A younger Lorelei, in her teenage years , could be seen playing with Vidar in an open field, throwing a freesbee for him to retrieve. He would tackle her, licking her face, as she would laugh.
"Has it been six hundred years already?" the younger Lorelei spoke, a tear welling in her eye.
I see what's happening, she realized. This is my life flashing before my eyes.
The scene snapped back to the rear exit of Rosie's Desert Oasis.
Ethan was visible, pulling Lorelei into his reach and delivering a brutal punch to her face that shattered several of her teeth.
He twisted her arms with precision before landing another strike to her jaw, causing her to spit a mixture of saliva and blood.
Just as she was about to collapse, he caught her hands, yanking her back toward him to deliver a sharp, CE-reinforced chop to the side of her neck.
She hovered in the air for a few agonizing seconds until Ethan seized her leg and slammed her down. In the same motion, he delivered a devastating back-kick to her throat—specifically targeting the larynx.
He looked down at her as she struggled to draw breath; he had restrained himself just enough to avoid delivering immediately fatal damage.
He leaned in and asked, "You must have felt powerful, taking over the minds of these men, How do you feel now, Lorelei?"
Lorelei couldn't form words; with her eyes bloodshot and panicked, she managed only a desperate, trembling shake of her head.
Ethan smiled.
He brought his hand, now glowing with the pale light of Reverse Cursed Technique, to her throat. He healed her voice box imperfectly, ensuring that even if the Asgardians tried to mend the rest of her body, they would never be able to restore her larynx.
Lorelei—the grand sorceress who had brought down empires and kings alike with her voice—would never speak again.
Just then, May and Coulson arrived from the far side of the lot, while Lady Sif emerged from the back door.
Ethan stood up as Tora began to dissolve in his shadow.
'I have completed the memory suppression, Ethan,' Tora spoke through their link. 'Every memory of John Garrett and anything related to HYDRA has been sealed within Ward's mind. I have implanted additional, fabricated memories to fill the gaps too.'
In Ethan's mind, he recalled what Grant Ward could become if given a proper chance—much like in the Framework simulation created by the rogue AI, Aida, Where he turned out to be a genuinely good man.
Garrett, a high-ranking HYDRA agent, had identified Ward as a broken, impressionable teenager and meticulously groomed him to be a loyal weapon, manipulating his desperate desire for family and belonging.
Ward had been systematically abused by his parents and his older brother, Christian. Garrett exploited this trauma, offering structure and a twisted form of love to a boy who felt entirely alone.
He had even forced Ward to kill his own dog, Buddy, to destroy his capacity for emotional attachment—a key step in turning him into an obedient "specialist."
Ward was fundamentally a man looking for a mentor, not necessarily a monster; Maybe, Just Maybe he will find that Mentor in Coulson.
His loyalty had always been intensely personal to Garrett, rather than to the HYDRA cause itself.
May immediately rushed toward where Grant Ward lay unconscious. Meanwhile, Coulson eyed Tora's massive, spectral form with a mixture of awe and caution as he made his way toward Ethan.
"Is that the Tiger you were talking about?" Coulson asked, side-eyeing Lady Sif for confirmation, and receive a nod.
"Her spell... it had no effect on you?" Sif questioned.
She seemed increasingly preoccupied with the bloody, broken state of Lorelei.
Just then, Ethan's other phone rang. Tora retrieved it from a Mirror Dimension seal and handed it over. It was a text from Wong:
Unregistered Cursed Spirit signature spotted in Fairview, Connecticut. Your ETA?
"Of course it didn't work. This is my cue, Coulson," Ethan replied, gesturing toward the phone. As he spoke, the massive wings of Nue materialized from his back, and he took to the sky.
Coulson and May stood on the dusty ground, shielding their eyes as they looked up at the enormous wingspan.
"What happened to Ward?" May shouted over the rising wind.
"Don't worry, he'll be alright when he wakes up! No, actually, he'll be better than alright... he'll be Grant! Haha!" Ethan laughed at his own pun.
' Damn, If this Sorcerer gig doesn't work out, I have a future as a comedian.'
'No...No you don't, Ethan' Tora shared.
"HUHHHH?" Ethan spoke outloud, Coulson clearly wanted to ask more, but He shook his head and interrupted. "So long, losers!"
With that, Ethan vanished in a distant Skyline, reaching his top speed, leaving a trail of thunderous sonic booms in his wake.
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A/N: So how was the chapter?
GIVE POWER STONES,IF YOU ARE ENJOYING THE STORY.
( It keeps me motivated to further write more chapters.)