Throwing Prey into the Pen: A New Round of the Cruel Hunting Game
"The Absolute Right to Be Alone."
The moment those five words landed on the uneven Vibranium floor of the Negative Zone, the air temperature instantly soared by at least twenty degrees.
Lynn leaned back on the Bone Throne. He keenly detected three distinct scents. To his left was the cool fragrance of Hela, tinged with the chill of glaciers; to his right was the strong Ozone odor produced by Wanda's overflowing Chaos Magic; and beneath his feet, Jean Grey's Dark Golden Flame baked the air with a pungent, burnt smell.
Three streams of energy, powerful enough to tear the Earth to pieces, boiled over at that moment.
Hela's breath hitched for half a second. She abruptly raised her face, her previously disheveled black hair fluttering even without wind. Her eyes, which had just been filled with humility and pleading, were now consumed by extreme greed and fanaticism. She didn't even bother to maintain her kneeling posture; her hands gripped the white bone edge of the Throne tightly, her nails scraping against it with a sharp, grating sound.
"Master, are you serious?" Hela's voice trembled violently, her throat filled with a sickly thirst.
Wanda's reaction was more direct. Her Scarlet skirt suddenly exploded with a visible ripple of energy, sending metal shards flying. She braced herself on the ground, arching her back like a mother leopard guarding her prey. Her nails dug deep into the soft flesh of her palms, dripping blood, but she seemed oblivious to the pain, staring intently at Lynn's lips.
"All night long..." Wanda gasped for breath, her chest heaving, the Scarlet light in her eyes almost overflowing, "I was the only one by your side... no one else disturbed us..."
Jean Grey, lying at Lynn's feet, let out a chilling, aggressive laugh. She rubbed her dusty cheek against Lynn's boots, her Dark Gold vertical pupils sweeping defiantly over Hela and Wanda.
"Stop dreaming, you two pieces of trash who can't even get into Master's Mind Link." Jean's voice was hoarse, tinged with an air of self-righteous arrogance. "Those three wrecked ships, and that old bastard named Pierce, are my prey. Master's time tonight is mine too."
"You're asking for it!"
Hela and Wanda shouted in unison.
The pitch-black Death Energy transformed into a ten-meter-long Night Sky Sword, hovering above Qin's crown. Scarlet Chaos Chain burst forth from all directions, locking Qin's limbs like venomous snakes.
Without flinching, a pair of Dark Gold flame wings suddenly unfurled from her back, and the terrifying heat instantly turned the Vibranium floor beneath her feet into semi-molten lava.
Lynn sat on his Throne, coldly watching as these three women instantly tore off their masks over a single sentence he uttered, even preparing to ignite Fourth World War in this underground prison.
A pleased smile curved his lips.
That's so interesting.
Hydra had been lurking for a century, spending countless resources to build Three Heavy Helicarriers. Alexander Pierce, believing he possessed the sword to cleanse the world, made Lynn his number one target for elimination. That old man was probably sitting in his office in the Triskelion Building right now, dreaming of ruling the earth.
But what did Lynn think of that?
It's not even a threat.
This was just a bloody bone he casually tossed into the dog cage.
He doesn't need to personally resolve any crisis. He only needs to sit on his Throne, offer a tempting reward, and this group of possessive, Yandere, twisted to the extreme, will tear Hydra's prized trump card to shreds like sharks smelling blood.
A crisis capable of upending the world was casually turned into a hunting game to please himself. This absolute sense of control, treating all living beings as pawns and Deity as vicious dogs, made the blood in Lynn's veins tingle.
"I haven't said 'start' yet."
Lynn curled his fingers and tapped the armrest of the Throne lightly.
Thump.
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unyielding will.
The Night Sky Sword, suspended in mid-air, shattered into black mist in an instant. The Chaos Chain retracted back into Wanda's sleeve as if electrocuted. The fiery wings on the back of the harp were also forcibly pressed back into her body.
The three women groaned simultaneously and knelt down again. Their chests heaved violently, and their eyes were filled with murderous intent, as if they wanted to devour each other alive.
"Those three toys, and Pierce's life, are in Washington, D.C.." Lynn leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes sweeping over the three women's faces. "But I don't need this pointless back-and-forth."
Lynn's tone turned cold, tinged with a critical arrogance. "If it's just about blowing up the ship and killing people, any Mutants could do that. What I want is perfect art. It's about letting that old man experience true despair before he dies."
He grabbed Qin's chin, forcing her to raise her head.
What are you going to do?
Jean greedily savored the warmth of Lynn's fingertips, a cruel glint in her Dark Gold eyes. "I will use Phoenix Force to peel away the armor of those three Helicarrier bit by bit. I'll burn all the Hydra agents inside to ashes. As for Pierce... I'll extract his brains and replace them with scalding magma, letting him experience the agony of having his skull burned through while he's still alive."
"Crude," Hela scoffed. "A fire-playing Beast, it has no idea what deterrence is."
Hela crawled half a step, raised her cold and beautiful face, and eagerly boasted to Lynn, "Master, I will summon the undead horde of Asgard. I will let those corpses crawl all over their Helicarrier and fill their engines with bone fragments. I will personally sever Pierce's limbs, keep him alive with Death Energy until his last breath, and drag him to your feet like a dead dog!"
"Is nothing but fighting and killing in your minds?"
Wanda curled her lip in a mocking smile. Her Scarlet fingertips traced a twisted Runes in the air, her voice chillingly malicious. "Killing them is too easy for them. Master, I will modify the Underlying Logic of those three Helicarrier. I will make those cannons turn around and aim at their own hibernation pods. I will make Pierce watch as his proudest weapon blows his men to bits. I will break him, drive him mad, and finally make him crawl over to you begging to kill him."
The three women were unwilling to give in to each other.
Their plans were increasingly outrageous and trampled on basic human decency. In order to win Lynn's approval and for that "Absolute Right to Be Alone," they had completely abandoned the bottom line of being superheroes or Deity, and had become extensions of Lynn's will.
Lynn released the violin's chin and leaned back in her chair, satisfied.
He made no judgments, nor did he designate anyone to carry them out.
"The scripts all sound good." Lynn stood up, looking down at them with eyes that seemed to regard three deadly blades about to be drawn. "But I only care about the results."
Lynn raised his hand and pointed to the exit from the Negative Zone leading to the surface.
"Go to Washington, D.C.."
"Crush Hydra's pride, drain Pierce's soul." Lynn's voice was deep, yet it carried a spark that could ignite anything. "Whoever brings back despair satisfies me most, tonight, I belong to that person."
Boom!
The moment the words fell, three terrifying energy fields shattered the dome above the Negative Zone.
Hela transformed into a jet-black meteor, tearing through space and shooting out first. Wanda followed closely behind, her Scarlet Chaos Magic ripping open a portal to Washington, D.C. in mid-air. Jean let out a sharp bird cry, and Dark Gold flames burned through the thick layers of earth, soaring into the sky.
Lynn stood still, feeling the violent tremors coming from above, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The prey has been thrown into the enclosure.
The vicious dog has been released from its cage.
I wonder if Director Pierce in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion is prepared for his ultimate nightmare, faced with these three drastically different yet equally horrific scenarios of destruction.