Power is the foundation of confidence.
So is lifespan.
When a once-long lifespan suddenly reverts to the brief decades of an ordinary human, Carol, now approaching fifty, finally lost the last of her stubborn pride.
"No no no no!"
She could no longer maintain even a shred of composure.
Gone was that resilience that always allowed her to stand back up after setbacks.
Her hands trembled as she raised them, then flailed in panic, touching her face with quivering fingers.
Why were her arms so shriveled?
Why had those ugly wrinkles appeared on her cheeks?
Carol froze.
Her eyes, already dimd from weakness, suddenly lost all their color.
Carol felt as though she had fallen into a pitch-black well, with the entire world drifting farther and farther away from her.
"Already feeling the pain? Don't worry—humans are incredibly adaptive creatures. You'll get used to this pain soon enough. It'll linger above you like a nightmare, hovering over every mont of your remaining life."
Lyon's voice snapped Carol out of her daze.
She looked toward Lyon with dull eyes—only to suddenly see a glimr of hope.
"Don't do this, Superman—please, I'm begging you, don't do this! Give it back… I beg you, give it all back to ! I can't live without it, I…"
Carol had never felt such regret as she did in this mont.
She shouldn't have co back to Earth. She shouldn't have provoked Superman with force. She shouldn't have, out of old sentint and misplaced sympathy, presud to speak on behalf of all humanity and agree to let the Skrulls stay.
There were too many things she shouldn't have done—each one leading to this very outco.
Perhaps the worst mistake of all was that she had been far too weak compared to Superman, yet still stubbornly insisted on standing her ground.
Carol crawled toward Lyon on hands and knees—but her voice and movent were suddenly cut off.
Lyon had restrained her with his telekinesis.
"Regret that only cos after losing everything is aningless. It's too late. Spend the rest of your life learning what it ans to truly cherish sothing."
Lyon drew a portal and stepped through it with Carol.
He was going to hand Carol over to Tony and have her judged by the International Tribunal as a traitor to humanity.
He was confident that Nick Fury, now sitting in the underwater prison, would soon have the company of his old friend.
Lyon felt that letting Carol spend the last few decades of her suddenly shortened life inside the dark, sunless Raft prison—was exactly what she deserved.
That would be the best punishnt for her.
…
"So, the Skrulls are just… extinct now?" Tony sounded incredulous. "Didn't they go online? Don't they know how strong you are?"
"Who knows," Lyon replied. "Those shapeshifting freaks were seriously disgusting. They didn't just want to steal soone else's ho—they had zero self-awareness on top of it."
Outside the room, the furious shouts of Captain Marvel being dragged away by two agents could still be heard. Lyon turned to Tony and gave him so final instructions.
"Carol's in your hands now. She deserves a fair conclusion."
"Relax." Tony poured Lyon a glass of brandy. "Besides being sentenced to life or shot on the spot, I don't see any other verdict coming."
He twirled his finger in the air. "And let's not forget—when those hundreds of Skrulls suddenly popped up to attack civilians, they scared the living hell out of the world's officials."
"You stopped them, didn't you? Everyone knows only you could stop that many monsters at once."
"And the footage of you wiping out the Skrulls in space? Jarvis captured it all and uploaded it to the Avengers database."
"All I have to do is forward that footage to the UN Security Council."
"After that, just one word from you—who on Earth would dare say no?"
"Heh, hearing it laid out like that, why does it feel like you're heading down the Injustice Superman route?" Tony rambled on.
"You haven't even found your Lois Lane yet, and you're already turning dark?"
Lyon was speechless. "I've got so many wings growing behind they're about to tangle together. And you're telling I haven't found Lois yet?"
"Wait, so you're not denying that you've gone dark? God—no wonder you've been wearing that black suit lately. You look totally brooding." Tony took a sip of his brandy.
"No, Tony… um.. why are you talking a bit too much today? Sothing on your mind?" Lyon asked, suddenly alert.
He glanced down—sure enough, the hand Tony was using to hold his glass was trembling slightly.
That was a classic sign of anxiety.
Lyon frowned slightly. "You… this state… don't tell those Super Skrulls and the power they displayed triggered your anxiety again?"
Tony's lips twitched. He lifted his glass a bit to cover his mouth and nose. "Do I look like soone who gets anxious? Please. I've never felt better."
"Really?" Lyon clearly didn't buy a word of it.
"…Alright, alright—stop looking at like that. I just got a little worried when all those sparkly Super Skrulls flew out of the solar system," Tony blurted.
"They were all as strong as Captain Marvel, right? Even you just let them leave."
"Ohhh, so you're worried they'll co back soday?" Lyon chuckled. "Not happening. I've got them all under my control."
"Control?"
"That's right. I used a technique from the Swallowed Star universe…" Lyon briefly explained the process.
"Soul enslavent technique? Shit—there's actually sothing like that? Lyon, you're sounding less and less like a good guy." Hearing that, Tony perked up. The oppressive weight in his chest vanished instantly, and he returned to teasing his little brother with his usual sharp tongue.
"Yeah yeah, I'm not a good guy—but I did bring you a gift."
Lyon raised his hand, and a brilliant platinum light began to glow in his palm.
Around the glowing light in his palm, a faint layer of bluish gemstone energy swirled.
"What is this?"
"Your fiftieth birthday gift."
"Thanks for the grand gesture, but I'm not fifty yet!"
"But the gift's already been given—rember the floating fortress? Have you forgotten?"
"A two-and-a-half-hand--down birthday gift—how could I ever forget?" Tony joked. "So, seriously—what is this?"
"Carol's powers. Super strength, super speed, super healing, super longevity, and all that…" Lyon raised an eyebrow and continued, "Well? Doesn't it sound like the touch of God's hand? Just one tap and you've got everything."
"Seriously?" Tony's expression turned solemn in an instant.
He leaned in close to study it. "This is Captain Marvel's power… you stripped it from her!"
"Yup. It was the best punishnt for her," Lyon said. "I'll go ahead and fuse it into your body."
"No! Wait—wait, wait…" Tony waved his hands in panic.
"Turning into so glowstick in a little sparkly dress? No way I'm living with that!"
"Are you serious? God-tier power right in front of you, and you're hung up on appearances? And besides—it looks aweso!" Lyon arched a brow.
"Let think…" Tony walked a few steps with his wine glass, paused in thought, then looked up and asked:
"You're not giving this to those girls in your MIB, the once you fu—Spend your nights with? Their combat style suits this power more."
"They don't need it. In fact, as long as I break through to the next realm of strength, they'll be able to borrow my power directly, gaining extended lifespans—or even becoming little Supern themselves."
"Well, that does sound pretty great! Tell you what, I'll just be like them and borrow your power when the ti cos."
Tony added, "As for this one, forget it. Better give it to soone else."
"External power is easily lost anyway. I still trust J.A.R.V.I.S. and my suits more."
Lyon nodded. "Then I'll give it to Pepper."
Tony's eyes lit up. "Yes! Giving it to Pepper is perfect—great idea. That way, at night, she can beco… ahem, I an, she can protect herself."
"Is that so? I'd advise you two to keep it in check. I'd hate to swing by Los Angeles one day and find your house in ruins."
With a half-smile, Lyon opened a portal.
On the other side, Pepper looked up from her tea in surprise. "Tony? Lyon? What are you two doing?"
Ever since J.A.R.V.I.S. had evolved into a true intelligent lifeform, the vast majority of Stark Industries' managent had been delegated to him.
Now, Pepper had finally gotten a break from endless work—ti to enjoy so tea, or get in a workout with Tony.
"Pepper, would you like to beco a tiless beauty—forever youthful?" Lyon asked with a smile.
"Tiless beauty? Are you teasing , Lyon?" Pepper set down her delicate teacup.
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