Marvel: Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Face Off

Kang had managed to take down quite a significant number of Inhumans with his gadgets, nullifying a portion of the opponents and crushing the rest with his raw strength. 


"Aggh"


Black Bolt bled from all his pores as Kang used his powers to weaken the Inhuman King. 


"Now, you will tell me where the anomaly is."


Many feared Black Bolt opening his mouth, yet Kang forced the King to bark out the name. 


Black Bolt coughed violently, however Kang's patience was running out. 


"Where. Is. The. Anomaly." His voice was deeper and colder, sending shivers down the spines of the spectators. 


Crystal, the royal elemental manipulator shook from the sheer pressure Kang released. But it didn't last long as a calm sensation took over her.


"The person that you are choking happens to be a king, for your information."


Crystal knew that voice, it was one that was very familiar to her. 


"Maybe, show some respect?"


Kang immediately turned and saw a young man floating in the sky. What caught his eye was the man's complete lack of armour. Unlike every other person that came prepared, he came in a casual dress. 


"Markus… Hanley." Kang muttered, looking at the new person. "The Anomaly."


Crystal at first was happy to see Markus, she knew how strong the man was. His strength was something that she witnessed first hand and she saw his fight against Jester. 


But she was also furious at the fact she was compelled to fight against her will, and so were her people. 


Was it justified though?


However, in some small corner of her heart… She knew that he had his reasons. Queen Medusa rejected to help him and she knew that the queen cared for the Inhumans and wanted to keep them away from harm. 


But maybe Markus wanted to do the same for his people? That's what she thought. 


Both were wrong but both were right in their standings. 


Markus raised an eyebrow. "I would prefer it if you didn't refer to me by that name. But you won't be able to take my name later anyway."


Bold. 


Just as Crystal remembered him, and just as annoying of a face as he had.


Cocky.


Kang's grip over Black Bolt's neck grew stronger, which made Markus sigh. He raised his hand and pointed it towards Black Bolt. And even before Kang could react, Black Bolt vanished. 


Kang was surprised for a moment before realising what Markus did. 


"Spatial control." He smiled a little. "I can see why the TVA scouted you." 


Crystal panicked but Markus' voice inside her head assured her. 


'Relax, he is safe. I just teleported him somewhere safe.'


He had teleported the Inhuman king to let him recover and hearing this, Crystal felt a bit relieved but not happy. 


'You still bother telling me this? You are controlling our entire kind… Have you forgotten?'


Markus gave her a sad smile. 'Even if you all cannot forgive me, I had no other choice.' Communicating with her through telepathy, he looked at Kang. 'Can't use Spatial Manipulation often. It won't take him long to reverse it on me.'


"Markus!" Quill exclaimed. "What took you so long?!"


Markus looked at the beaten up Starlord and gave him a smile. "Don't worry. I am here now." He pointed towards the huge army of Kang that was still in a battle with the Inhumans. "Deal with them."


"So, that's why the big army. It was not for me but for my army." Kang deduced. "You already planned to fight me. You just wanted someone to deal with my army."



Markus flicked his fingers creating a barrier while pushing Crystal away from them. The instant creation of the barrier impressed Kang.


"Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Markus said, referring to Kang's previous comment. 


Kang placed his hand on the force field and exclaimed in appreciation. "Such a strong force, truly a piece of art. Comparable to the ones from my time." 


Markus knew that Kang could nullify them but creating a space for a one on one fight was much needed. 


"I won't erase it." Kang commented. "But I hope these are not the only tricks up your sleeve." The battle-hungry Warlord grinned at the younger mutant. 


"Oh, you don’t have to worry about that." Markus said and flicked his fingers, creating a shockwave strong enough to push Kang back by a bit. 


Kang was impressed by Markus' strength. Kang was strong but without his gadgets, he wasn't much different from his army troops. 


His anti-gravity belt and enhancement armour however made it possible for him to withstand forces far stronger than any nuke could create. 


"Shall we begin?" Kang stood proud.



"I thought you would never ask."


…

…


[[Peter Quill]]


Taking one of the magical herbs provided by Markus, I had to rush back to help Gamora and the rest. However, it was not without witnessing the battle between the two behemoths. 


Markus created a force field to allow him and Kang to fight without any outside disturbance. And while I knew that the kid was powerful, the fact that he managed to push Kang back with a flick of his fingers was highly impressive. 


"Quill! Get rid of the fleet!" Gamora said. 


"On it!"


The tech Markus provided was insanely good, one shot from it and it made the spaceships crash into one another. 


*Boom*


Explosions occurred everywhere as the Inhumans, Markus’ soldiers and Kang’s army crashed head-on.


Groot was helping Black Bolt heal and Rocket was leading the army away from Earth. 


*Boom*


Firing my gun to take down another ship, I looked at the battle taking place ahead of me. 


Kang and Markus had started the fight and their fists collided at a terrifying speed. Despite the force field, the spectators could feel the tremors around space. 


"Why do you even bother with these conquests?" Markus' question drew my attention. 


"My goals are beyond your understanding." 


"Aha?" Markus snorted. "Or do you not have an answer?" 


Kang shot a ray towards Markus, which the young mutant didn't avoid. 


"I believe your timeline has had conquerors before. From Genghis to Alexander, from Charlemagne to Ashoka. Everyone knows of them, everyone feared and respected them. But did anyone ask them why they became conquerors?" 


The shot froze Markus' torso.


"Quill, behind you!" 


Gamora fired her gun, preventing the armoured soldier from taking my head. 


"Don't get distracted." 


"Thank you." 


Pulling out my gun, I cleared the area. 


"Genghis Khan is more hated than respected, Alexander was still called a failure, Charlemagne's years of hard work was unpaid when his empire fell apart and Ashoka… He regretted his entire life." Markus said, shattering the ice around him. 


Something was off. 


Neither of them seemed to be using their full powers and Markus… He barely seemed interested in the fight. 


*Shoot*


Blasting another soldier's head off, I witnessed Kang using his time gadget for the first time against Markus. 


The time inside the field changed, allowing Kang to move at supersonic speeds. 


His body vanished and none of the spectators could see him, except Markus.


His eyes moved together with Kang’s movement, making it impossible to miss even a small motion. This surprised Kang as there haven’t been many that can match his speed once he activates his gadgets.


Markus raised his hand and easily defended against the attack. 


The ones that witnessed the scene had their jaws dropped. 


"Magic?" Gamora asked. 


"I don't know." 


I didn't. His movements were beyond human capabilities, but he did say he was a mutant. 


He is able to use spatial manipulation… Maybe, that's how he managed to dodge? 


"Kang." Markus said. "One of us is going fall in this battle."


Their fists collided, causing the space around them to tremble violently. 


"That is exactly how a death battle is supposed to end." 


Kang's armour glowed purple, making the conqueror grow multiple times stronger. 


"Since, one of us will die in the end. I want you to answer a question and in return, I will answer one of yours." 


"What is he doing?" Rocket asked, clashing against a mutated warrior. 


"You cannot escape Lord Kang's army!" 


"Shush!" Rocket blasted the minion with his launcher. 


Looking at the battle had me confused just as much as the others. But what had me even more surprised was Kang’s answer.


"Very well." Kang agreed. "If you answer my question, I will answer yours."