Marvel: Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Using the Inhumans

Somewhere far in a galaxy, outside the reach of others was stationed a battleship equipped with countless planet-destroying weapons. 


The battleship was designed by its inhabitant and with countless years of conquest and pillaging, he was able to find some of the rarest and most expensive materials to construct it. 


But he was not satisfied yet. No matter how much power or wealth a man had, it was never enough.


And it was exactly the same for Kang. 


He was a warrior, a conqueror, someone that didn't stop unless entire civilisations bowed down to him. 


And after the failed attempt at taking down the Guardians of the Galaxy, he was furious. 


"Sire, they had escaped." 


But Kang was acute enough to not redirect his fury on his soldiers, despite the very obvious statement made by one. 


"I can see that." He said, keeping his impassive face. "Did you figure where that portal led them?" 


The soldier shook his head. "Unfortunately, not. My lord."


Kang kept staring at the place where the Guardians vanished. He had a raging suspicion that he knew the one that opened the portal but he wasn't certain. 


"There are not many that can open a portal of that scale." Kang deduced. "The ones that can open it won't bother with the Guardians, so that leaves only a handful of people that might have done it."


"So, who was it, my lord?" 


This time, the question annoyed Kang. 


"I don't know." He said, turning around to stare directly at the questioner. "You tell me."


"I-I don't know, sire." 


Kang put on a calm smile as he walked towards the soldier. Slowly moving his hand over the soldier's shoulder, he brought his mouth to the ear. 


"When you don't know, you stay quiet." Kang's whisper made the soldier shudder in fear. "The next time you make such questions without permission... No." 


Kang smiled and moved back, ruffling the hair of the younger lad. "There won't be a next time." 


The soldier widened his eyes but to his surprise, Kang spared him. 


"Isn't that right?" 


"Y-Yes, My Lord!" 


Nodding at the soldier's words, Kang walked towards his throne. 


"Find out who the TVA has hired. If we find that, we will have all the answers."


"Yes sir!"


'It has to be an anomaly or I would have been able to see the future.'


…

…


[[Markus Hanley]]


What I need are beings strong enough to stop Kang's army when I face him, but they must be beings that are dispensable to me. I cannot let the members of the High Table face off against an army led by an intergalactic time lord. 


And that's where these people come in. 


"Halt!" 


"Seriously? Again?" I stared astonishingly at the new faces guarding the city of Attilan. "Didn't I go through this before?" 


"Shush! Speak when asked!" One of the two guards near-yelled.


"Who are you?!" Asked the other in an equally domineering tone. 


I kept my cool and with a respectable tone, I answered. "Ask your King. He has given me the privilege to enter this city at any moment."


I waited for them to confirm with Black Bolt but instead of doing so, they pointed their spear at my face. 


"His Highness would never give a being that is not an inhuman such authority."


Now. 


What would have I done, if I was still known as Marcellus?


I would have acted like a gentleman and requested them again to confirm with their King. Or I would have simply shown them the memory of that incident using my powers. 


But I was not Marcellus anymore. 


"Buzz off." 


Using my powers to induce sleep, I had them fall on the ground. I didn't teleport, instead I calmly walked towards the castle, keeping my powers active and making everyone that was near my vicinity fall asleep. 


There are a lot of powers that I possess and not a lot of moments that I can use them. So, times like this… it's best to let a little loose.


Not like I need to hide my identity anymore. 


Casually taking a stroll towards the castle was a way to show Black Bolt how weak his security was. I didn't come with any hostile intent but if anyone did, they could have easily broken inside Atilla. 


As for the traps, my X-Ray and Infrared vision allowed me to prevent triggering those.


But the peaceful steps didn't last for long as a sharp shard of ice flew straight towards me.


"Why am I getting such déjà vu?" 


Easily dodging the shard, I looked at the inhuman that attacked me. 


"What is the meaning of this, Crystal?" 


The younger royal frowned at my question. 


"I should be asking you that." She said. "Why did you… Do this?" 


She pointed at half the Atillan guards being on the floor, asleep. 


"Well… I didn't know that Lord Black Bolt would forget to tell his soldiers about the promise he made." My small remark made her frown deepen. 


"What promise?" 


A deep sigh. 


"Well, why don't you ask him directly." I said and before she could say anything, I continued. "Right, your highness?"


Crystal widened her eyes and looked behind to find Black Bolt and Medusa walking down the castle's staircase. 


"Markus Hanley." Medusa muttered. "Forgive us for the inconvenience." She said on her husband's behalf, her sentient hair floating around her. "Most of the guards are new and they were unaware of the promise."


Crystal seemed a little confused, so I decided to explain. 


"Lord Black Bolt granted me the right to enter Atilla whenever I wanted, however your guards didn't seem to know that and thought they could order me around."


This made Crystal widen her eyes in understanding. She knew what a promise made by a king meant and for the soldiers not keeping that promise was a punishable crime. 


However when it were the Royals that forgot to tell the poor guards about the promise, there was not much they could do.


"Oh…" Crystal muttered. 


Black Bolt raised his hand and pointed towards the castle, signalling us to go inside. 


"Come on in." Medusa said. "We once again apologise for the inconvenience." 


…

…


Black Bolt sat on his throne with Medusa sitting on the one next to his. Crystal decided to stand instead of taking the seat and apparently the rest of the Royals were out for some 'business'.


"So, Kang is here… Way sooner than expected." Medusa summed up the situation.


"Yes." I answered honestly. "He is."


Sighing at the situation, she looked at me. "And you want us to fight alongside you."


Medusa looked at Black Bolt, who closed his eyes. This action made me grow suspicious of something. 


"Kang the Conqueror is a being that can kill countless and won't stop unless he has what he desires. Us Atillans are not strong enough to stop him but have technology advanced enough to hide from him."


I fucking knew it. 


"What are you suggesting?" I asked despite already being aware of the answer. 


She showed a sad smile. "Forgive us, Markus Hanley. But we cannot let our people die at the hands of the Conqueror. We will stay out of this war."


Silence. 


I expected them to be hesitant but I believed they would still help protect the earth. However, I forgot something important. 


Something that I should have calculated.


"So you all only care about the people of Atillan?"


They are selfish. 


They are not heroes. They are just a bunch of stuck up Royals with superpowers. 


Medusa didn't reply and stayed quiet. 


"So, I guessed correctly." I sighed. "Does the life of humans and mutants mean nothing to you?" 


"They do. But our citizens mean more to us."


Her words made me lose my hope in the Inhumans. My expectations from them were already very low but now. 


I didn't have any expectations. 


"You may enjoy your time here, Markus Hanley. If you want we can provide shelter to you. But we will not take part in this war."


She thinks she can shelter me? She thinks she can hide from Kang?


Hilarious. 


I had lost all hope for the Inhumans. Maybe, some were right. 


They were just unnecessary beings that were added for fun. With the existence of Mutants, what even was the reason for their existence otherwise?


"No. It's alright." I smiled, disappointed at them. "I can take care of myself."


Walking back a little, I continued. "But you cannot hide from Kang." My smile turned shallow. "And you will fight."


"What do you mean?" Medusa asked. 


"Oh, you will know when the time comes." Saying that, I teleported without waiting for them to continue. 


After all, Hive's ability is going to be of use.