Chapter 14: Lynn: This Scene Is Seriously Messing with My Head!
Lynn felt his guess was probably right.
After all, a green cloak, an iron mask, and using both technology and magic was definitely Doctor Doom's style.
But the resonator let Natasha see the future?
That part was weird.
At the time, he had been so focused on absorbing the 'Death' energy that he hadn't noticed anything else.
Thinking of this, Lynn asked Natasha, "Did anyone else see it? Like Captain Rogers or those researchers?"
"No."
Natasha shrugged. "I already tried asking. No one else saw those images."
"All they saw were the translucent jellyfish and stuff."
With that, Natasha ladled a bowl of the milk-macaroni from the pot and handed it to Lynn. "What about you? Did you see anything unusual?"
"Nope."
Lynn took the bowl, hesitating for a moment. "If I had a choice, I'd really rather not eat this."
"Just take it."
Natasha laughed, then suddenly said, "Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know. So when I file my report, I'll leave out the parts about you from the vision."
"I don't know if that powerful version of you I saw is what you are now, or something you get from an 'accident' in the future."
"But in the vision, you were fighting alongside us. I think that's enough."
Seeing Natasha's serious expression, Lynn thanked her.
'Man, that pineal gland is really something else.'
'I can't believe it actually let her see the future.'
After dinner, Lynn stood by the window, fiddling with a deck of cards. His eyes, filled with death energy, gazed outside.
In the peaceful darkness, a magnetic field of colorful, invisible specks, undetectable to the naked eye, enveloped the abandoned villa in a hundred-meter radius.
Behind him, Steve was polishing his shield. Natasha was lying on the sofa, watching old videos on her phone.
Ronak was squatting in a corner, lost in thought.
As for the SHIELD researchers, they were excitedly discussing the resonator.
"Hey, where's Fikes?"
In the middle of their excited chat, one of the researchers suddenly asked, "Fikes said he was going to the bathroom. That was like, ten minutes ago. Why isn't he back?"
Hearing this, the others realized it too.
"Oh no."
Natasha, instantly sensing trouble, grabbed her gun. "Fikes is probably in the lab!"
The group sprinted to the lab. Steve kicked the door open.
Inside, Fikes was standing in the middle of the room, his arms wide as if he were embracing something.
A swarm of translucent jellyfish and eels drifted around him.
Hearing the noise, Fikes turned his head, his eyes filled with ecstasy. "It's... it's so beautiful. They're like creatures from heaven."
Seeing that Fikes had already lost his mind, Natasha didn't hesitate. She drew her gun and fired at the power cord.
Bang!
Bang!
A series of shots rang out, severing the power cable.
But even so, the resonator, now without power, kept running. The purple light only grew brighter.
Seeing this, Steve gripped his shield and was about to charge in, but Lynn grabbed his arm.
"Don't move!"
Lynn pointed at Fikes, his expression grim. "Something's wrong."
Just as he spoke, Fikes's outstretched arms began to twist into grotesque shapes.
And yet, he wore an expression of pure bliss, as if he felt no pain at all.
Not only that, his skull began to slowly split open from the middle. A fist-sized, mucus-covered tumor squeezed its way out.
"Oh my god!!!"
At this sight, everyone reco-"Fikes"d a few steps, even Natasha's expression turning to one of horror.
Especially when the tumor turned... and they saw it had a human face on it.
Natasha breathed, "What the hell is that thing?"
"I would rather do the Budapest mission a hundred more times than see this. This is disgusting!"
"God... Professor Robertson?"
Ronak took a numb step forward, recognizing the face on the tumor. "That's... that's Professor Robertson!"
"Ah, my most brilliant student."
Long, tentacle-like organs slithered out of Fikes's head.
The tumor-face leaped to the ground and began to expand, melting into a large pile of flesh in seconds.
Then, Professor Robertson slowly rose from the mass of meat. "Isn't it beautiful? My dear Ronak. You see? Our experiment was a success."
"This isn't just the diverse face of higher-dimensional life... it has given me eternal life!"
Professor Robertson took a step forward, his tentacle-like organs writhing in the air. "Ronak, what are you waiting for?"
"He bestowed the same energy upon you, did he not? Don't resist it. Accept it. Become one with it."
"This world... will belong to us!"
As he finished speaking, the protrusion on Ronak's forehead began to twitch frantically.
A brown, grub-like thing burst through the bone of Ronak's forehead and emerged.
Ronak clutched his head, screaming in agony as he fell to his knees.
Natasha and Steve started to move, but Lynn threw his arms out, blocking them.
Under his golden pupils, Lynn could see Ronak's body being flooded with energy not of this world.
The next second, Ronak threw his arms wide and let out a roar. Dozens of tentacles erupted from his body.
"See? Such power. How could you ignore it? How could you repress it?"
With a simple gesture, Ronak's body flew involuntarily to Professor Robertson's side.
"Praise the Elder God, my dear student. From this moment on, Earth will be ours. And humanity... humanity will crawl at our feet, as our slaves!"
Hearing the professor's arrogant declaration, Steve gripped his shield. "I've met a lot of people who wanted to enslave humanity. They all ended up defeated."
"No matter who you are, or what powers you have, in the end... you will fail!"
The moment Steve finished, Professor Robertson turned his head.
"Well, look at this. A man desperately trying to pretend he belongs in this world. A woman drenched in blood, seeking atonement. And one... who pretends to be a normal man."
"What a curious little group. A pity it's about to be... erased."
With that, a tentacle shot out from Professor Robertson's body, striking at the three of them.
Steve instantly put himself in front of Lynn and Natasha, blocking the attack with his shield.
Natasha and Lynn, at the same time, opened fire.
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