IMUC Chapter 502 Mysterio

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Above the Nine Realms, in the golden halls of Asgard, Thor strides confidently into the Great Hall, wielding Mjolnir and draped in a red cloak. 

However, the hall is eerily quiet, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle, a stark contrast to its former glory. The only figure present is the aged Allfather, Odin, seated on his throne; his presence is the only remnant of the grandeur that once filled the room.

"You're back at last, Thor," Odin said, his eyes half closed as he looked at Thor as he entered the hall.

"Father," Thor replied, putting down Mjolnir and kneeling respectfully on one knee, "The crisis caused by the Convergence has been successfully resolved. The leader of the dark elf army that invaded our realm, Malekith, has been slain by my hand."

Odin narrowed his eyes and fell silent as if pondering something deeply.

"And as for the Aether that was inside Jane," Thor continued, "After a thorough examination, it's no longer in her. I suspect that... Loki may have used the Tesseract to extract the Aether from her body."

At the mention of Loki, Thor's gaze darkened. Since Loki's betrayal of Asgard, Thor had felt a growing distance between them.

Odin nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "I understand. Stand up, Thor. You've done your work."

Thor shook his head and did not rise. Instead, he said seriously, "Yesterday... because of Jane and Mother, I urged Kyle and I to break out of Asgard. I'm willing to accept any punishment for the consequences of that action."

"Oh, I see. If you're so eager for a punishment, I'll give you one," Odin replied with a stern expression. After a moment of thought, he added in a calm voice, "Then I'll sentence you to go to the borders of the realms and restore order from the chaos caused by the Convergence.

"Father," Thor replied, visibly moved. This was far from a punishment; it was a responsibility he had already expected.

"Go now," Odin said, a rare, gentle smile appearing on his face.

"I will not fail you!" Thor declared resolutely before picking up Mjolnir, bowing to Odin on the throne, and with a sweep of his red cloak, he walked out of the hall.

As he left, Odin's voice echoed behind him, "Thor, I am always proud of you!"

"Father..." Thor took a deep breath and did not look back as he took large strides out of the hall.

Once Thor left the palace, the great hall fell back into silence. A mischievous smile crept across Odin's face as he sat on the throne.

"I am always proud of you. That old man's line still works wonders; it fooled me for many years."

With a mischievous grin, Odin's body twisted and turned. His white hair turned to sleek, glossy black, his clothes to a black robe, and his aged, weathered face to a younger, more sinister visage.

It was the Trickster God, Loki.

Loki, now holding a scepter in one hand and resting the other on the armrest, sat on the throne and looked down upon the vast golden hall.

From the palace, he could see the sprawling Asgardian buildings, the Bifrost, and the stars and setting sun. A satisfied smile formed on Loki's lips, "This feeling isn't bad at all.

This was exactly what Loki had been looking for.

After using magic to disguise himself and trick Captain America into giving him the Aether from the future, Loki sent a false message to Thanos, claiming that the Aether was with Thor's group. This misinformation led to a conflict between Thanos' forces and the Avengers.

Meanwhile, Loki slipped back into the now defenseless Asgard. Using the enhanced power of the Aether, he banished a weakened Odin to Earth and took his place on the throne, disguised as Odin himself.

Everything was going according to Loki's plan, except for a minor hiccup when Kyle nearly killed him with a double star energy beam across dimensions.

"Odin, you old fossile, I bet you never saw this coming! Everything you have taken from me, I will take back with my own hands!" Loki sneered as he set the scepter down beside the throne. 

He spread his palms, revealing the blue glow of the Tesseract in one hand and the red Aether in the other.

With two Infinity Stones in his grasp, Loki's ambition swelled. "Now that I have two Infinity Stones, I have an advantage over both Thanos and Kyle! While they're busy fighting each other, I can swoop in and collect all six stones first. Then the entire Nine Realms will kneel before me!"

Suddenly remembering something, Loki stored the Aether and activated the Tesseract, summoning a swirl of spatial mist into the hall.

This spatial mist was similar to the portals created by Earth's Sorcerers, but it was a power unique to the Space Stone, almost instantaneous compared to the sorcerers' magic, which required time and energy to cast.

Loki stepped into the mist and, without the need for the Bifrost, traversed the vastness of the cosmos to emerge in a New York apartment.

Inside the room, a glass helmet rested on a computer desk. Quentin sat in front of the computer, working on a model. The sudden noise behind him startled him and made him jump.

Instinctively, Quentin turned around. When he saw Loki, the surprise on his face quickly turned to familiarity. He placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, "You're here, my master."

"Raise your eyes and look at me!" Loki commanded, tapping the ground with his scepter. Quentin obediently looked up, a flash of dark light flickering briefly in his eyes.

"Good," Loki said with a satisfied smile.

No one but Loki knew that during the Battle of New York, in addition to using mind control on Hawkeye, several SHIELD agents and scientists, Loki had also discovered Quentin, a highly talented individual, in Stark Tower.

Quentin was Loki's dark seed planted on Earth, only now, after six months, ready to bear fruit.

Loki smiled and said, "I told you to stay close to the Stark family. Now you have a chance to get to know this man."

Quentin nodded quickly, "Indeed. I've already begun to gain the trust of the Symbol of Peace and Stark Industries. Soon I will no longer be the mediocre scientist I once was, but the superhero 'Mysterio'!"

"Remember, no matter who you are, you're still my subordinate. Don't forget that," Loki said coldly, reminding Quentin of his place. He then asked curiously, "What have Kyle and his team been up to lately?"

"Pym Particle, Ant-Man!" Quentin blurted out, and under Loki's puzzled gaze, he explained the whole situation with Ant-Man.

"A shrinking life form that can grow and shrink at will... Earth really does have some cutting edge technology," Loki muttered, sitting down on a chair. Soon, a mischievous smile spread across his face as he devised a plan. "Quentin, continue to follow Kyle's orders, but don't just apply pressure and a sense of urgency. Use this opportunity to kill Ant-Man and bring me the Pym Particle."

"Kill Ant-Man?" Quentin hesitated, "Master, I've only used illusions created by drones to fool people. I have no real lethal means."

"You didn't before, but what if you did?" Loki's wicked smile widened as he held out his left hand, where a swirling mass of red energy appeared.

"This is..." Quentin's eyes widened with a mixture of awe and fear as he felt the immense power emanating from it.

"Open your mind and accept it," Loki urged, transferring some of the Aether's energy to Quentin. Loki was eager to see what would happen when technology-created illusions combined with the primal power of the Reality Stone. The resulting explosion would be nothing short of spectacular...

(End of Chapter)