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Do you like Loki's creations, dangerous experiments, and willingness to challenge enemies that appear above his league? Then you will definitely like Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Midgard
Universe D1
He was in Midgard. One in a different reality altogether, but he was certain it was Earth. The language he saw was English; the people were humans, and it had the same polluted air.
"Is this another Earth? " she asked through the telepathic link between them.
"Appears so. Come, let's take a stroll," he said, creating an illusionary leash around her. His general location was the Middle East. Which country, he wasn't certain, since it did not match with the maps of the Earth he knew.
He approached a grocery stall, eyeing the apples. The owner, a man with a weary gaze and appearance, greeted him with a smile. He was way past the age to be working. Looking at the state of the stall, he guessed the man had no other choice.
He bought a bag full of different fruits, with several bananas at Cosmo's request. He peeled one, handing it over to her, and ate another himself. Walking through the city, he began to get a clearer picture of the situation.
The infrastructure wasn't in good condition. Potholes in the roads and bridges, peeling paints, slums, and a terrible urban design. Whoever ruled the country did not appear to care for the people.
"Boss, are we going to do something?" she asked, whimpering at the sight of the begging children.
Loki felt something hot and ugly stir inside him. "Perhaps."
"Come on. These people are in a terrible state. You can make a difference," she said, butting her head on his leg.
"If I save them, what will they do when faced with the next great threat to their nation? Pray to me?" He didn't want to hand the fish to them so easily, yet he wasn't going to spend time teaching them how to fish either.
She whined, giving him those sad eyes again. "You are smart, aren't you? You can figure something out."
He closed his eyes. "You weren't this willing to save the Earth we know."
"I didn't think it was this bad," she said, looking at the group again.
"Let's just walk and see more," he said, handing the bag to the children.
Listening to the Midgardians, he was able to gather quite a bit of knowledge about the nation, Bialya.
An elderly couple were grumbling about the city's state. The husband didn't like how his home, Karif, had fallen down so far. The wife cursed the Queen Bee, the ruler of Bialya, and the ministers. Several military officers had gathered together for dinner. One blurted out a possible war with another country, Qurac, and the military buildup in the capital, Al-Qawiya.
—
"So?"
"So what?" he asked, stroking the head on his lap.
"Aren't you going to do something?" He shrugged at the question, not sure what answer to give.
"Then what are you going to do with all that power? Just exist? What's the point of that?" She always helped around Asgard with her telekinesis whenever she could instead of just lazing around in her room.
"I have Asgard, my family, and my friends." Who else did he need to use his powers for?
"What would they want you to do? Ignoring your father, of course." He chuckled at her petulant tone. She never got along with his father, who merely found her to be a curiosity.
"I believe in letting them solve their own problems."
"Doesn't mean you can't lend a hand."
He threw his head back, groaning. "Maybe we can visit this Queen Bee and poke her hive a bit."
Time to play the hero.
—
Al-Qawiya
He could have simply teleported near Queen Bee and interrogated her. However, that would be as fun as catching fish in a barrel. So he decided to do something a bit more elaborate for amusement.
He switched places with the minister of defense.
According to the news, the six ministers of Bialya were gathering in the palace to report to the queen on the state of the nation. He walked in, third in line behind the ministers of economy and interior.
The palace was ostentatious. Pure, blinding white, it was a mix of native and European architecture. Tall, square towers; a dome large enough to rival Asgard's throne room—he rolled his eyes at it. Asgard's palace took thousands of years to be what it was now. This was barely a decade or so old.
Queen Bee's narcissistic nature showed itself in the form of statues and busts outside the palace. Passing through a path with three large bronze statues on each side, they finally entered the palace.
The inside was just as bad, with paintings, either expensive-looking ones or Queen Bee's portraits, along with more busts.
He turned his attention to the ministers. From the first second, he noticed the almost euphoric look in their eyes. They seemed to be getting more excited the closer they were to the throne room.
A cursory scan revealed the reason.
A chemical compound was bound to their brain, particularly to the section responsible for sexual attraction. The one responsible was obvious.
"Boss, there is a weird smell in the air," Cosmo said, walking a bit behind, invisible to all but him. He had put on layered protections on her long ago. There was nothing that could bend her mind or so much as ruffle her fur.
"Pheromone-based mind control, how cute. Let's see what this Queen Bee is about," he said through the mental connection. So far she appeared to be a narcissistic, power-hungry parasite. She reminded him of another parasite he had enjoyed terminating.
"All hail Her Majesty, Queen Bee, the ruler of Bialya," the crier announced. They all went down to their knees, except him. He simply made them believe he was kneeling. "Rise and take your seats," Queen Bee ordered.
He finally got a clear look at her. Brown-skinned, she wore a dark corset top and trousers, along with a silk shawl. Her golden headband must be the equivalent of a crown, matching the fang-shaped earrings. She was pretty as far as despots went, with a slender, diamond face and dark blue eyes and long, flowing hair.
As ordered, the ministers took their seats like drones.
The minister of economy was the first one to give his report. In the meantime, he inspected the queen to determine the source of her power. He disassociated his consciousness from his body, inspecting the full body scan. Her scent glands produced pheromones, while she had an innate low-level psychic ability.
Both were genetic.
And ever so easy to get rid of.
He returned to his body, satisfied with what he had learned, just in time for his turn to report. He started by snapping his fingers. Queen Bee raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
The minister of economy frowned first, his face scrunching and relaxing, an act his comrades began to emulate. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.
"Why are we listening to her?" The Minister of Foreign Affairs asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. The rest of the cabinet looked at him, wondering the same.
Loki smiled, putting his feet on the table. "Simple pheromone- and psychic-based mind control. You all were her thralls for a long time."
Queen Bee tensed, eyes narrowing. "You are not Samir."
His shape changed, his face and clothes returning to normal, growing taller and more slender. "Bingo. I believe that's what you mortals use in these situations."
The minister of energy slammed his fist on the table, glaring at the queen. "I knew it. I knew something was wrong the day I took this position."
Bee tried to use her powers to take control of the situation again. Loki smirked, enjoying how her eyes widened with each failed attempt.
"Don't bother; you don't have your powers anymore. And the gentlemen here look like they are going to lynch you."
True to his words, the ministers turned to the queen, each waiting for another to move first.
Bee's eyes were burning with a look that would melt Uru. She pressed a hidden button on her throne. Several sections opened on the floor, deploying a thick layer of smoke. She managed to run just as the humans started coughing. They stumbled out of the room, giving her all the time she needed.
"Cosmo, if you would."
His canine companion growled with a light, pleased tone, running after the fleeing queen. She was fast, far faster than any of her kind. Bee had nowhere to go.
Loki got up, strolling towards his target.
—
"Please, resist. I am sure Cosmo would love the excuse to tear your throat out," he said, grinning at the downed former monarch. Cosmo was on her back, growling, while Bee begged for someone to get the dog off her.
Cosmo growled, her teeth leaning down to the left of Bee's throat, her saliva dripping. He whistled and she backed off, leaving the woman to scramble back. She hit a tree, stopping.
"Boss, we got incoming," Cosmo said, turning to the door.
"Don't kill them. They are being used."
The group of security guards suddenly found themselves floating, their guns torn out of their hands. Cosmo slammed them to the ground, hard enough to knock each one out.
"So much for your security," he said with a light tone, a smirk on his lips afterwards.
Bee wasn't ready to surrender yet. "You haven't killed me yet. You want something."
He shrugged, kneeling down to her level. "An answer."
He created a black hole in his hand, sucking all the light within visible range, turning day to night. "I have enough power to destroy this planet with a snap of my fingers, yet I never saw the point of this desire for power and control. What drove you to do any of this?"
Beads of sweat began to gather on her forehead. She realized this wasn't a mere assassination attempt by a hired gun.
"Humanity deserves to be at the top of the galactic food chain. Control is necessary to ensure order and progress," she said. It was the purpose of the light and something necessary to fulfill her vision.
He kept gazing at her, face hard as stone, before he snorted. "According to your narrow, narcissistic view, no doubt."
She snarled, still trying to use her pheromones. "I have the power. Why shouldn't I use it? Why shouldn't these lesser beings kneel before me?"
"You remind me of Rapu," he said, letting out a dry, humorless laugh as a ghostly image of the said worm appeared next to Bee.
"He was a god I met on another planet. Thought the natives of the planet should worship him because he is Rapu, not because he deserved it."
He knelt down again, glaring at her, his hatred drowning hers out. "I was going to let the mobs lynch you, but I believe I can yet make a lesson out of you."
For the first time in a long while, she felt terror.
—
All across Bialya, giant screens blinked into existence. Life came to a stop at the sight of Queen Bee, tied to a tree. A stranger stood before her, smiling.
"People of Bialya. Your parasitic queen has been mind-controlling people in positions of importance, which allowed her to rule this country as an unopposed despot. I give you the chance to take the reins into your hands; don't waste it."
With those words, the stranger snapped his fingers. A noose came down from the large branch of the tree, wrapping itself around Queen Bee's throat like a serpent, pulling. She began to struggle, trying to remove the noose to no effect. Her struggles were frantic at first. She clawed and shook, opening wounds on her throat.
Second after second, she slowed down, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, the gagging sound fading to nothing. Finally, her hands fell to her sides. She continued to slightly swing back and forth, motionless otherwise.
"There you have it," the stranger said, dismissing the screens.
—
Mount Justice
"Who the heck is that?" Kid Flash asked, his voice lacking the usual exuberance. He had just seen the gruesome image of Queen Bee's dead body hanging on a tree.
"No match on any databases. He is not a known villain or a vigilante," Robin said as the search results came up empty. Whoever the stranger was, the possibility that he was not from Earth remained.
"What about Bialya? What is happening there now?"
"Mass riots broke out following Queen Bee's death. The government is trying to control the situation, but no luck there. The military and the law enforcement are in a state of chaos and can't respond effectively."
"Is it just me who isn't sad about it?" Artemis asked, crossing her arms.
There was no response to her question.
—
The Watchtower
"You have nothing on him?" Superman asked, raising an eyebrow. All the founding members were in the meeting while the rest had matters to deal with.
Batman continued to work on the computer, not even turning around. "No. This is the first time he is seen. It is possible he is not from Earth."
"How many aliens are out there with this kind of tech or powers?" Flash asked the Green Lantern, who shrugged.
"Too many."
Martian Manhunter cleared his throat. "And Bialya?" The important matter was to help the nation stabilize itself. Bee's fate was already decided.
Flash read the latest message the League had received. "The cabinet reached the UN. They want our help to peacefully stop the protestors. I mean, we know Bee was mind-controlling them. There is no reason to say no."
"We could also contact this unknown individual if he is still in Bialya," Superman suggested. It was one thing for this man to kill Queen Bee. It was another matter for him to livestream it to the people of Bialya.
"What then? He hanged the internationally recognized ruler of the country, a despot or not. Do we try to arrest him?" Aquaman asked.
"They elected the minister of interior as the brand new prime minister with emergency powers. Legally, we can go after him should they make an official request," Manhunter summarized.
Flash crossed his arms. "Did he make a request?"
The green alien shook his head. "Just to mediate with the rioters."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
—
Unknown Location
"Who is this new enemy of the Light?" a rough, guttural voice growled. Of all the setbacks they faced, having one of their own executed on live TV was not one any had seen coming.
"He is dangerous," an almost childlike voice said. He had considered taking a glance at the unknown, but the mere feeling of his magic made him back off.
An older, calmer voice spoke next. "That is obvious. The real question is how do we respond?"
"From his little speech, it is evident he cannot be brought to our side. Yet, he is unlikely to be accepted by the heroes," a fourth, sophisticated male said. Bee's death and the following riots meant the Light would have to quickly retreat from Bialya before their efforts were discovered.
The rest of the meeting failed to reach any concrete objectives.
—
In the next chapter:
"We could invite him for a chat," Flash suggested, but their attention turned to the final teammate, who was trembling now.
"Fate, are you alright?" Lantern asked, raising a hand to shake the Lord of Order awake.
Dr. Fate, who was meditating, suddenly went stiff. His head snapped back. A torrent of green energy blasted out of his eyes and mouth, blinding them all. It abruptly stopped, and Fate fell forward, helmet and costume disintegrating, leaving Zatara's breathing form behind.
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