Chapter 277: All of You — Kneel!
"Achoo. Someone's talking about me behind my back again," Ethan muttered with a light snort, shrugging it off as he kept walking.
He'd gone casual today — a Hawaiian shirt blazing bright under the sun, board shorts swaying gently in the breeze, flip-flops clicking softly with each step. He strolled leisurely down the street, savoring the summer wind and sunshine.
That's when Wanda came hurrying over, worry written across her face. "Are you feeling okay, Ethan? Did you catch a cold?" She reached out, moving to feel his forehead.
Ethan laughed and shook his head, dodging her hand. "No runny nose. Though if you get any closer, Wanda, I might end up with a nosebleed instead."
He snuck a glance at her — a black bikini, curves that drew the eye without even trying.
Wanda's really grown up, Ethan thought, privately impressed. And she's got plenty going on, too.
Wanda seemed to notice where his eyes had landed. Far from minding, a flutter of shy delight rose up inside her. She stole a glance back at him and caught him staring, unashamed — and felt her cheeks warm at the sight.
Guess Ethan really does like me, Wanda thought happily to herself. Likes the bigger ones, too. She decided then and there that she'd start wearing more revealing outfits for him from now on — anything to make him fall for her even harder.
"It's been a while since we've walked around Hell's Kitchen together like this. I really should get you out more," Ethan said, glancing over at her with concern. "You've had a rough stretch, taking over a company this size. If it's ever too much, tell me — don't just push through it alone."
He meant it, too. She was still just a young woman in her twenties, after all, and inheriting a company of that size overnight — one whose business was, for the most part, thoroughly illegal — was no small thing to shoulder.
Sometimes Ethan wondered whether it had even been fair of him to hand it off to her in the first place. Guess I really am just letting Wanda carry me for the rest of my life, huh.
Wanda seemed to read the doubt on his face. She wrapped her arms gently around him. "It's not hard at all. Not even a little. As long as it helps you, it's worth every bit of it." Her eyes carried a quiet certainty, a trust so steady it eased some of the doubt still sitting in Ethan's chest.
Their eyes met, and the air between them shifted, warm and charged. Ethan found himself leaning in without quite meaning to, drawn toward giving her a proper, tender kiss.
That's when his phone rang, shattering the moment entirely.
Ethan answered with visible irritation. "This had better be important, Tony."
"Whoa, easy, Ethan," came Tony's smug voice from the other end. "I just hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems and found something big — about you, no less."
"Get to the point."
"Fine, fine." Tony's amusement dropped into something more serious. "I found out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people just got completely wiped out by a guy in a black cloak. You actually know him — it's Loki. And get this — their whole target seems to be your Space Stone."
"Watch your back," Tony added.
"Got it." Ethan hung up, frowning.
Guess Avengers 1's plot is kicking off. Only problem is the enemy's already showing up early, and Nick Fury — the guy who's supposed to assemble the Avengers — is already dead. Who's even left to put the team together? Ethan rubbed his forehead.
Avengers 1 was about to start, and half the cast was already missing. Ethan figured this meant Hell's Kitchen would need to hold the line against Loki leading a Chitauri invasion of Earth.
He was willing to lend the Illuminati a hand where it made sense — Hell's Kitchen was, after all, technically an unofficial organization, and Ethan would honestly rather leave saving the world to the actual federal government if he could help it.
Come on, Illuminati, step up. I just want to hang back and stay out of the spotlight, he thought, glancing skyward with a small sigh.
If he was being honest, Ethan wasn't actually worried about Loki's invasion itself. Chitauri and Loki alone weren't going to amount to much, no matter how you sliced it — so long as Thanos himself didn't show up in person, Ethan was confident he could send the lot of them packing without a second thought.
What Ethan actually wanted was more than that. A bare Avengers-1 plotline on its own wasn't worth much — the whole point of this era was just the founding myth that got the superhero team together in the first place.
But if this world's version of future-Tony showed up, traveling back to collect the Infinity Stones — or some other timeline's Tony, doing the same thing — that would change everything. Ethan could use that connection to get his hands on the rest of the Stones through them, and rapidly level up his System as a result.
Or, alternatively — if the Time Variance Authority showed up when Loki got captured, then by rights, Ethan should finally be able to track down Loki, God of Stories.
That second possibility, though, Ethan figured was unlikely — there was only one God of Stories Loki, and he'd already been born elsewhere, which meant this universe's Loki couldn't be him.
All of this was set to play out within the Avengers-1 timeframe. There was a lot Ethan could plan around here.
Beside him, Wanda noticed Ethan had gone quiet and thoughtful the moment he hung up the phone.
"Is something wrong?"
Ethan shook his head, smiling at her. "It's nothing. Let's get back to our date." Whatever comes next can wait until it actually comes.
Not far from where Ethan stood, inside a grand theater, stood a figure in a golden helmet crowned with horns like an antelope's, armor of gold and black, and a flowing green cape.
Loki.
He stood at a height, gazing down at the panicked crowd below with open disdain and arrogance, as if the entire world already lay under his command. He frowned — the noise around him was simply too grating.
"Far too noisy. Such racket!" Loki flicked his hand in irritation, and a burst of raw power erupted outward. The police cars nearby flipped violently through the air on some invisible force, crashing down with a deafening crash. People screamed in terror, scattering in every direction, desperate not to get caught in the blast.
Loki's display seemed to have the intended effect — the panicked crowd gradually froze in place, too afraid to move. They stared up at this overwhelming presence, trembling, terrified of provoking him further.
But Loki wasn't satisfied yet. He looked down on the crowd from his perch, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Kneel. All of you — kneel before me!"
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