"The Soul Stone?"
Lothar narrowed his eyes, the energy gathering in his palm slowly dissipating.
"That's right. The Soul Stone."
Jennifer tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile blooming as she saw Lothar take the bait exactly as she'd hoped.
"I know where the map that leads to the Soul Stone is hidden. If you agree to help me, I'll hand it over once everything is done."
There was unmistakable seriousness in her voice.
Technically speaking, she wasn't lying.
She had long ago learned from her teacher that the Collector possessed a map leading to the location of the Soul Stone. For reasons unknown, however, the Collector had kept the map without ever retrieving the Stone itself.
If Lothar helped her defeat King Rodus of Gafa and restore her people, the Tuskari clan, to freedom, she would then be able to trade a rare treasure she had long safeguarded with the Collector in exchange for the map.
In that case, her promise would be fulfilled.
"Give me a reason to trust you."
Lothar retracted his arm, chin raised, voice sharp.
He admitted it, he was indeed tempted. The Soul Stone was one of the six coveted Infinity Stones. His adoptive father, Thanos, had spent ages seeking them.
If he returned from this journey with one in hand, Thanos would be ecstatic.
Assuming, of course, Jennifer was telling the truth.
"That's… rather difficult."
Jennifer shrugged. With the grace of a seasoned woman, every movement radiated allure, but Lothar was unmoved.
"Because I don't know how to prove to you that I'm truly using the power of an Infinity Stone!"
As her final word fell, her entire body erupted in a mesmerizing pulse of violet light!
"Are you looking to die?"
Lothar frowned, watching as Jennifer threw a punch. Instinctively, he raised his right hand to intercept, but in the next moment, his eyes widened in shock!
Boom!
An unstoppable force exploded from Jennifer's body, driving Lothar back several steps.
"That energy…"
"The aura of an Infinity Stone. So? Do you believe me now?"
Jennifer withdrew her hand. Clad in a crimson dress, golden hair cascading over her shoulders, she appeared almost ethereal in Lothar's eyes.
"In the name of an Infinity Stone bearer."
Her radiant smile was nothing short of dazzling.
"Prince Lothar, strictly speaking, the Soul Stone shouldn't have that kind of power. That was most likely the Power Stone."
Woz's isotopic scanner displayed results on the punch Jennifer had just thrown.
Indeed, it matched the energy structure of an Infinity Stone.
"You dare show such disrespect to Prince Lothar!"
The Other raised his scepter, the glow of the Mind Stone focused directly on the short-haired blonde woman before him.
"What's the deal?"
Lothar reached out and forcefully pushed down The Other's scepter.
"Prince Lothar!"
"Silence."
Same cold tone as always. The Other shut up immediately.
Lothar was still Lothar.
"Help me defeat King Rodus of Gafa." Jennifer exhaled quietly, praising her mentor's gift in her heart. She stepped beside Lothar, offering her hand.
"Overthrow Gafa's tyranny."
"Deal."
...
"The fact that Thanos' son possesses two Infinity Stones is no longer a secret. The rebels will undoubtedly target him, that's a given."
"And what I must do is get Thanos' son to join forces with those overconfident rebels."
"Only then will that ancient fossil, the one hiding in the shadows, be lured out by Jennifer and appear before me."
In a tavern, Hela, true to the habits she'd picked up in Asgard, devoured meat and downed liquor, all while clad in a black skintight suit that accentuated her curves. Her striking features drew every eye.
At her feet lay the bodies of several unfortunate men who'd tried to flirt with her.
"Only then can I show that fossilized relic that his ideals are outdated."
King Rodus of Gafa's words played on loop in Hela's mind as she tore into her food, still digesting the truth she'd uncovered.
"Who is that ancient fossil?"
"Who? Thirty-five million years ago… he was my teacher."
She doubted she'd soon forget the look in Rodus's eyes as he ran his fingers over his violet armor and spoke those words in nostalgic reverie.
Thirty-five million years ago, the Tuskari reigned supreme on Gafa. Their king and army ravaged the Gafa people, turning every conquered village into a playground of slavery and torment.
Back then, Rodus had just reached adulthood. Unwilling to see his people enslaved, he crossed treacherous terrain to find a legendary figure known as the Great Sage. Fueled by passion and a desire for justice, he became the Great Sage's disciple.
In just five centuries, Rodus had become his master's most accomplished student. He even received custom-forged armor, crafted by the Great Sage himself using his own fused power, armor Rodus still wore to this day.
But the bond between master and student was shattered by the ongoing war between the Gafa and the Tuskari.
Thirty million years ago, Rodus, determined to free his people from Tuskari rule, encountered the Collector, who had just acquired the Cosmic Flower.
In exchange for nearly half his life force, Rodus gained the Collector's aid and was gifted a mechanical colossus capable of obliterating entire worlds.
This machine, said to be a remnant of the previous cosmic mech-era, was the last of its kind in the universe, and the Collector's most treasured possession.
With the might of the colossus and his own power, Rodus led the Gafa people to victory, overthrowing the Tuskari regime.
But the dragon-slayer eventually became a dragon himself.
To uphold his deal with the Collector, Rodus enslaved the remaining Tuskari, banishing them to Gafa's northern deserts, forcing them to mine planetary resources and cultivate lifeforms for the full blossoming of the Cosmic Flower.
And so began a 30-million-year reign of tyranny over the Tuskari.
"Aren't you afraid of losing?"
"Losing? It doesn't matter."
"What I sought… I already possess."
"I will personally prove to that fossil that some people are born to be ruled, that servitude runs in their very bones."
"Everything they do is pointless."
"Besides, I won't lose."
"You won't lose?"
"That guy might surprise you."
As Hela sipped her drink, Lothar's image surfaced in her mind, his golden hair billowing during the battle at Svartalfheim. Strangely, she found herself… hoping.
"Letting a gorgeous woman like you drink alone? I'd say every man in this tavern must be blind."
Just as she pondered the odds between the two factions, a tall man with center-parted hair approached her table.
"Look at your feet," Hela sneered, her voice rich with mockery.
"Those? I wouldn't call them men." The man shrugged and took a seat across from her.
"Let me introduce myself. Name's Ego. And you are?"
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