Unfortunately, Thor's confusion would remain unresolved.
Once Earth had handed over the "war criminals," Herta—or rather, the people of The Blue—stopped pursuing further accountability.
Despite that, the Star Destroyer showed no intention of leaving Earth's orbit.
From an outsider's perspective, this arrangement seemed fine.
While those on The Blue were a bit miffed that Earth hadn't technically become one of Herta's personal assets, Herta herself had spoken. No one from The Blue was about to cross her.
The Council members, however, were utterly miserable with their fate. They hadn't expected their extensive networks to fail them so completely when protesting the verdict.
Wasn't this just a matter of finding someone to appease an alien's wrath?
They had plenty of scapegoats and fall guys on the payroll for exactly this kind of thing. Why on earth were they the ones actually being sent up?
But the Earth's leadership didn't dare gamble.
The opposing civilization possessed Star Destroyers larger than Earth itself; the sheer scale of their power was beyond anything humanity could fathom.
In the face of such a civilization, did Earth truly have any secrets left?
If the aliens got bored or grew suspicious and decided to double-check the list themselves, only to find the "merchandise" didn't match the description, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Herta, meanwhile, couldn't care less about any of that.
Her focus was narrowed down to two things: the Simulated Universe and Chaos Magic.
In the Marvel world, magic mostly boiled down to one concept: borrowing.
Most sorcerers functioned by tapping into a power source, using their own mana to manipulate that energy into various effects.
This source could be a god-like cosmic entity, a collective like the Vishanti, or even the essence of some transcendental dimension.
Some casters were power entities in their own right, representing specific concepts—these people were essentially the "creditors." Others relied on contracts to master advanced techniques, or simply devoured other power sources to claim their strength.
Among them stood a unique outlier: Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of the Time Stone.
Her power was on loan from the Vishanti and Dormammu. Theoretically, such power required a price or repayment—the very reason these entities lent it out in the first place.
Yet, Ancient One had found a clever loophole: she dodged her debts by simply beating up the creditors.
Specifically, she beat up Dormammu.
Chaos Magic, however, was a different animal. It only awakened in those lucky few with the right innate qualities, and it operated on a system entirely separate from other magical frameworks.
This meant Herta had almost no literature or reference material to work with. Her entire understanding of it relied on constant experimentation with data she couldn't even physically touch.
Genius as she was, she couldn't replicate Chaos Magic from a mere fragment of incomplete data.
As the research hit a stalemate, Herta's interest began to wane. She left the superheroes to linger in the Simulated Universe, hoping they would inadvertently scrape together more data for her.
The heroes didn't mind. The Simulated Universe wasn't just a one-way street for Herta's benefit; the perks it provided them were very real. That was why they were so willing to help.
Unfortunately, though they had entered the simulation several times since, they never managed a "haul" quite like the first time. They understood why, of course.
That first time, they had technically saved all of humanity.
Well, "saved" was a strong word. Considering Thanos had still snapped his fingers and the chaos from the broadcast surely took its toll, they hadn't exactly rescued everyone. Still, they had saved a staggering number of people, which likely boosted their score significantly.
Even after deductions for dying, the lowest earners, Natasha and Barton, still walked away with a thousand points.
Since that day, the Avengers hadn't seen a payout that large. Even for Hulk and Thor, who found earning points relatively easy, the cap seemed to be around a thousand points.
Today, the Avengers arrived at the Simulated Universe chamber as they always did. After so many visits, the routine had become second nature.
However, as they walked in chatting, they realized the room held a figure that was both a stranger and strangely familiar.
If the Herta puppets they'd seen before were beautiful, doll-like girls, the figure before them now was a young woman shrouded in mystery.
She was strikingly charming, possessing a sophisticated, mature aura that the puppets lacked.
"Are you... Madam Herta?" Rogers asked tentatively. He glanced at the witch's hat atop her head, then compared her face to the puppets he knew so well.
He didn't suspect she was Herta's older sister or a relative.
He remembered Herta mentioning in passing that the puppets were modeled after her younger self. This woman was clearly the "grown-up" version of those dolls.
"What? You can't tell?"
Herta raised her right hand, brushing a stray lock of hair that had fallen forward during her work back over her shoulder.
"The puppets do have a few discrepancies compared to the real me, but is there anyone else who could possibly surpass them in beauty besides myself?"
Well...
She felt a bit different from the puppets.
Thor, figuring he was on friendly terms with her, let out a laugh.
"I didn't expect you to actually look exactly like the paintings and... those 'photographs'! I'd seen them before, but usually, those things involve quite a bit of artistic license."
"In short, most people look much better in portraits than they do in person," he concluded.
"Do you honestly think Madam Herta's beauty requires retouching?" Standing by the Simulated Universe, a Herta puppet that had recently been upgraded with a new AI immediately scowled. "A swan has no need to dress itself up. Didn't you know that?"
"Huh?" Thor blinked, caught off guard. "I didn't mean it like that... Alright, fine, I did think that before, but it was just a misunderstanding!"
"It's fine. I actually quite like that 'star-struck' look on your face."
Herta wasn't as prickly as her puppet.
To her, Thor's reaction was just proof that he couldn't believe someone could actually look like those "artistically enhanced" portraits. If anything, it was a glowing endorsement of her looks.
Seeing that she truly wasn't offended, Thor offered a sheepish, polite smile.
"Um... what brings you to Earth so suddenly?" Banner asked, part curious and part worried. A busy person like Herta didn't waste time; her physical presence usually meant business.
"Don't overthink it. I just happened to be looking for someone here, and the puppet's body is a bit inconvenient," Herta said with a dismissive wave.
"Besides, the puppets are limited in performance. There are experiments I need to oversee in person."
She turned her gaze toward Thor. "Go ahead and do what you need to do first. You, Asgardian—I have something to discuss with you once the test is over."
"Me? You're looking for me?"
Thor couldn't help but shudder. Was she actually more annoyed about his earlier comment than she let on?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.