Chapter 8: Unwilling to Be Manipulated
The matter involved Odin.
Even though Lance Ryder had great confidence in himself, the thought still made him uneasy.
If things were truly unfolding the way he suspected, then every move he made from now on might already be part of Odin's calculations.
The only ways to escape that influence were grim.
Either he would have to wait until the day Ragnarok arrived and Odin finally died…
Or he would need to become powerful enough to break free from Odin's control himself.
But Odin's death would not immediately solve everything.
As one of the rare Skyfather-level beings in the Marvel universe, Odin's influence extended far beyond his lifetime.
Even in his old age—when he often had to enter the Odinsleep to recover his strength—his presence alone had suppressed powerful entities like Thanos and even cosmic forces such as Death.
Even after Odin died, the ripple effects of his influence over fate would continue for a long time.
So if Lance truly wanted to escape Odin's control, he would have to grow much stronger.
And the sooner he wanted to break free, the faster his power needed to increase.
Lance sat quietly at the dark red tea table in his living room.
In one hand, he held a white teacup.
He wasn't applying any deliberate force.
Yet tiny cracks slowly spread across the cup.
It was clear that the situation had shaken him deeply.
For his entire life, Lance had struggled to escape other people's control.
Yet the more he resisted, the tighter the invisible chains seemed to become.
Resistance was still necessary.
But revealing his true strength would be a mistake.
Instead, he needed others to misjudge him.
Odin…
Lance had a persistent feeling that no matter how strong he became, Odin would always remain one step ahead.
If he wanted to break free completely, he would either have to wait for Odin's death—
Or rely on external power.
For example…
The Infinity Stones.
Thinking about them eased his mind slightly.
Lance let out a slow breath and continued planning.
Now that he had encountered Betty Ross and Gwen Stacy, the next person he might run into tomorrow could easily be Natasha Romanoff.
Or even someone like Captain Marvel.
These encounters were slipping beyond his control.
Which meant he had to prepare himself.
If Odin intended to use him, there were only two possible roles for Lance.
Either he would assist Thor, helping the future king grow stronger—
Or he would become Thor's enemy.
A whetstone sharpening the blade of Thor's power.
With Lance's current strength, that responsibility was far beyond him.
But Earth changed the equation.
When beings like Thor or Loki came to Earth, their power would be suppressed by the planet's inert magical environment.
That narrowed the gap between them.
Under those conditions, Lance might actually be capable of standing against them.
Personally, Lance would rather stand on Thor's side.
He wouldn't mind advising Thor or even helping him defeat certain enemies.
But Lance's own identity made that nearly impossible.
The moment the Avengers discovered his true background, none of them would trust him.
Which meant there was only one path left.
Standing against Thor.
Even if he didn't want to.
If Odin truly intended this outcome, then step by step, events would push Lance in that direction.
But a whetstone had only one purpose.
Once Thor no longer needed it—
It would be discarded.
Or destroyed.
That was the brutal reality.
Lance had only two real options.
Either grow strong enough to stand equal to Thor—
Or leave Earth entirely.
Only the vast reaches of space offered true freedom.
The Nine Realms under Asgard's influence might seem enormous.
But compared to the endless universe, they were merely a small corner.
After Odin's death, even if Thor eventually defeated Thanos, his power would still fall short of Odin's former might.
If Lance could obtain an Infinity Stone, he would at least gain the qualifications to stand on equal ground with Thor.
In the end, everything came back to the same point.
The Infinity Stones.
And the timeline was approaching quickly.
Within a few years, Thor would arrive on Earth.
Then Loki would follow.
After that, the Chitauri invasion would begin.
That would mark the true beginning of the battle for the Infinity Stones.
Because of his identity, Lance could easily find himself standing on the opposite side of Earth's superheroes.
But superheroes were not the true rulers of the world.
The real power belonged to governments.
And governments were controlled by ambitious politicians.
They rarely cared about morality.
If someone was useful, they would accept them.
Even if Mephisto himself walked through the door, they would still find a way to call him an ally.
Right now, Lance saw an opportunity to approach those powers.
General Ross.
Very few people on Earth could face the Hulk directly.
Even if Lance intervened, he would not be able to defeat the Hulk outright.
But if his involvement allowed General Ross to avoid complete humiliation—
That small measure of dignity could change many things.
No matter what, Lance needed multiple layers of identity.
If one identity was exposed, the others had to remain safe.
Odin might influence the overall flow of fate.
But the details were still under Lance's control.
And details could change everything.
If Odin truly controlled fate completely, then Ragnarok would never come.
Which meant Lance still had a chance.
He just needed to move carefully.
After thinking the entire night, Lance finally formed a rough plan.
His first step would be approaching the U.S. military through General Ross.
The military had always wanted to create its own superhuman force.
Now—
Lance intended to give them that opportunity.
Despite their attempts to hide, Betty Ross and Bruce Banner still revealed their whereabouts the next day.
Lance noticed it the moment he arrived at Empire State University.
Security forces were quietly directing people away from certain areas of campus.
On the surface, Lance left the campus along with the other students.
But secretly, he cast an invisibility spell and slipped back inside.
Invisibility was not unique to the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
There were many different methods.
The simplest relied on optical illusion, bending light to hide the user.
A more advanced version used layered illusions to distort perception.
The most powerful technique folded space itself, hiding the user within dimensional gaps.
That method was favored by Kamar-Taj.
Lance used a deeper optical illusion.
More sophisticated than the crude tricks of stage magicians or ninjas, but based on similar principles.
By the time he returned to campus, the situation had escalated dramatically.
More than a dozen tanks were positioned around the area.
Specialized weapons designed specifically for the Hulk had already been deployed.
General Ross had not waited for the Hulk to appear before launching an attack.
Instead, he had activated every prepared measure immediately.
Even though the campus was crowded with students.
Meanwhile, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross had just exited the Biological Sciences Building.
Betty had retrieved all the experimental data she had secretly copied.
That research was the key to helping Banner regain control of himself.
But neither of them expected what awaited them outside.
The moment they stepped onto campus—
They found themselves surrounded.
Tanks blocked every direction.
Squads of U.S. soldiers closed in from all sides, evacuating civilians while tightening the encirclement.
And standing at the center of it all—
Was a man with gray hair and a cold expression.
General Thaddeus Ross.
Betty Ross saw her father.
And instantly realized what was happening.
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