Chapter 40: Lynn: Only an Idiot Wouldn't Know What to Choose
Hearing Natasha's cry, the entire team crowded around.
There, on the documents in her hands, was the unmistakable insignia of Hydra.
Natasha looked at the symbol, then at Steve, her expression grim.
"I can't believe these vampires were in bed with Hydra."
Steve took the file. The top pages detailed a partnership between a Hydra cell, calling itself 'The Council,' and the vampires.
It included notes on joint human experimentation. In exchange, Hydra provided the vampires with protection, shielding them from SHIELD's kill-on-sight orders.
As Steve read through the data, watching the horrific experiment videos on a nearby monitor, his face grew harder and harder. He finally slammed his fist into his palm. "I thought… I thought after I took down Johann Schmidt seventy years ago... that Peggy and Howard had wiped Hydra out for good."
"I can't believe they're still active."
He flipped to the last page of the file.
But the symbols and characters at the end were complete gibberish to him.
He handed it to Tony and Bruce, the two most brilliant minds on the team. They were just as stumped.
"This doesn't look like any known civilization's character set."
After a moment, Tony shook his head. "I had JARVIS run a scan. Nothing in any global database, linguistic or symbolic, matches it."
Hearing this, Steve's gaze fell on Lynn.
Lynn, who was busy snacking on dried blueberries, saw Steve looking and offered the bag. "Want some?"
"Thanks, but no. Lynn, can you make any sense of this?"
"If it's not an Earth language... and with these weird diagrams... I'm starting to think it might be some kind of magic."
At Steve's words, Tony's eyes lit up.
He took the bag of blueberries from Lynn and swapped it for the file.
Lynn just glanced at it and knew immediately. "This is a dark magic cipher. Learning this particular branch of magic lets you…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
'Wait. I've never seen these symbols before in my life. How the hell can I read this?'
He immediately thought of Mephisto's 'gift' right before he vanished from the painting.
Lynn's mind raced.
'But... why? What's Mephisto's angle?'
"Why'd you stop?"
Natasha immediately stepped closer.
"It's a form of dark magic. It combines blood sorcery with these rituals to... to create undead monsters that follow orders."
"Undead monsters? You mean those things that attacked us? The ones that kept coming even after we blew them apart?"
Tony Stark shuddered, remembering the thralls in the tunnel.
"More or less. But the ones we fought were the lowest tier. According to this…"
"The highest-level undead monsters... are immune to all physical and magical attacks."
With that, Lynn ripped the last section—all the pages detailing the dark magic—straight out of the file.
He pulled out his lighter and set them on fire.
Seeing this, Natasha lunged to stop him, but Steve put an arm out, blocking her. "If what Lynn says is true, this cannot be allowed to exist in this world."
Tony nodded in agreement. "He's right. We have no idea who else might be able to read this."
"If this ritual fell into the hands of some maniac, the whole world would be in danger."
As the papers burned to ash, Lynn ground them into the floor with his boot.
He finally understood. He knew why Mephisto had given him that wink, why he'd dumped all this forbidden knowledge into his head.
'That bastard... he was trying to use me. He wanted me to practice this magic, and then use my power to turn this entire dimension into his own personal hell.'
'If I'd actually done it, I guarantee the Ancient One would have shown up to imprison or banish me.'
'Hell no. I might be hungry for power... but I'm even hungrier for a good time.'
With that done, Lynn stretched. "It's getting late. If that's everything, I'm out of here."
"Natasha, don't forget to wire me today's fee."
"Oh, and by the way, count me out for whatever comes next. Tsk… I want absolutely nothing to do with Hydra."
And without waiting for anyone to stop him, Lynn turned and walked out.
Natasha just shrugged. "See? I told you. He's the smart one. He knows exactly what he can handle, and what he wants no part of."
"The rest of us... we're all tied down by duty and responsibility. But not Lynn."
Tony just shrugged back. "Alright, let's keep moving. We'll back up these files. One copy for me and Banner to study, one copy for SHIELD."
"If Hydra's involved, this is SHIELD's mess to clean up anyway."
***
As soon as he was out of the fortress, Lynn drove straight back to his hotel.
He took a long, hot shower, then sat on the bed to take stock of his haul.
First, the money.
Six million dollars, plus all the future orders from Tony Stark for the anxiety potion, meant he was set for a while. Financial freedom, basically.
And when he started brewing the higher-level stuff... Tony 'Moneybags' Stark would be a customer for life.
He'd never have to worry about cash again.
Second, the knowledge.
Mephisto's 'gift' had completed the stolen grimoire.
He was now fluent in all sorts of dark arts.
It was a comprehensive package. If he wanted to, he could probably become one of the most infamous black mages on the planet.
But... everyone knew that magic in this universe was more of a "loan" than a gift.
And besides, he had his Emissary of Death identity waiting to be unlocked. He didn't need black magic.
'Think about it. One path is a "gift" from Mephisto, probably riddled with traps and fine print I can't even see.'
'The other path... is from Death herself, one of the five great cosmic entities.'
'Power is nothing in the face of fundamental rules.'
'It's a no-brainer.'
Not to mention the abilities the system was already giving him.
Until he was powerful enough to ignore the consequences, Lynn had no intention of biting that poisoned apple, no matter how much power it offered.
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