"Go ask mother?"
Thor and Loki exchanged incredulous looks after hearing Richard's dismissive response, their expressions darkening in unison.
Before seeking out Richard, they had already made the pilgrimage to Queen Frigga's chambers, hoping for answers that seemed increasingly elusive. But like Odin before her, the Queen Mother had been frustratingly sparse with details. All she would reveal was that Hela was indeed their sister—their older sister—and that Richard had recently brought her back to Asgard from whatever realm she'd been banished to.
Thor had opened his mouth to press for more information, questions burning on his tongue about this mysterious sibling who had apparently been erased from their family history. But something in his mother's weary expression made him swallow his words. Instead, he'd simply nodded stiffly and left the royal library with Loki trailing behind, both princes more confused than when they'd arrived.
Before anyone realized it, five days had slipped by like sand through an hourglass.
After thoroughly absorbing every tome of interest in Asgard's vast royal library—a collection that would have taken most scholars decades to fully explore—Richard finally decided it was time to return home. He gathered Kaguya and Nancy, and together they made their way back to the Fantasy, his interdimensional vessel that served as both transportation and sanctuary.
For Richard, those five days had been refreshingly ordinary—a rare period of peace and intellectual stimulation as he delved into Asgardian magical theory and cosmic lore.
But for Thor, Loki, and the rest of Asgard's population, those same five days would be remembered as nothing short of earth-shattering.
On the third day after Hela's return, Odin had made a decision that would forever alter the course of Asgardian history. The All-Father declared a grand celebration, ostensibly to welcome back the Goddess of Death to her rightful home. But everyone knew there was more to it than simple familial reunion.
At the height of the festivities, with all of Asgard's nobility and countless citizens gathered in the great hall, Odin finally revealed the truth that had been buried for millennia. He spoke of forgotten wars and conquests, of an empire built on blood and ambition. He told them about Hela's role as his executioner and vanguard, how she had once been the original wielder of Mjolnir—Thor's precious hammer. Together, father and daughter had forged the Asgardian Empire's golden age through conquest and domination, painting the Nine Realms in shades of gold and crimson.
But then came the revelation that shook the very foundations of Asgardian society: Odin had sealed away his own daughter when her ambitions grew too vast, too destructive even for his tastes. The official records had been altered, her existence scrubbed from history books and family portraits alike.
As Hela's true identity spread throughout the realm like wildfire, other long-buried secrets began to surface. The truth about the destruction of the legendary Valkyrie Legion—Asgard's elite female warriors who had supposedly died gloriously in battle—was finally revealed. They hadn't fallen to some external enemy or cosmic catastrophe. They had been slaughtered by Hela herself when they dared to oppose her increasingly violent methods.
The revelations sent shockwaves through Asgardian society. To some extent, Hela's return and the subsequent truth-telling damaged Odin's carefully cultivated reputation as a benevolent ruler and wise father. Citizens whispered in corners about what other secrets the All-Father might be hiding, what other family members might be locked away in forgotten prisons.
Yet despite the potential political fallout, Odin had chosen to make Hela's existence public knowledge rather than continue the charade of secrecy.
Perhaps it was because he truly was growing older, feeling the weight of millennia pressing down on his shoulders. Or perhaps he genuinely believed that Hela had changed during her long imprisonment, that she might be capable of redemption. Whatever his reasoning, after extensive discussions with Queen Frigga that lasted deep into several nights, Odin had made his choice.
Richard hadn't been surprised by Odin's decision to reveal Hela's identity. The All-Father was nothing if not pragmatic—keeping such a massive secret indefinitely would have been nearly impossible, especially with Hela now free to move about Asgard.
What had surprised Richard was being consulted about the matter beforehand. Odin had sought him out for a private conversation, asking for his perspective as an outsider—and more importantly, as the one who had convinced Hela to return peacefully rather than in conquest.
As an Earthling with no political stake in Asgardian affairs, Richard had naturally voiced no objections to the revelation. While he was well aware that Thor and Loki harbored deep resentment and suspicion toward their newly-discovered sister—their rejection of her was almost palpable whenever they were in the same room—he personally held no grudge against Hela. If anything, he found her refreshingly honest about her nature and intentions.
After returning to the Fantasy, Richard made the decision not to explore any new worlds or realms. Instead, he set course for Earth, bringing Kaguya and Nancy home to the place that had become their sanctuary.
Silver City Palace - Study
The familiar surroundings of his Earth-based headquarters were a welcome sight after the grandeur and politics of Asgard. Richard's first order of business upon returning was to check in with Tifa about recent developments in Silver City during his absence.
After confirming that no major incidents had occurred—no alien invasions, interdimensional breaches, or other catastrophes that seemed to plague his life with frustrating regularity—he turned his attention to more pressing matters. He instructed Tifa to download and analyze all the information about the Divine Realm that her clone had gathered, then tasked her with further optimizing and perfecting the realm's foundational model.
The Divine Realm project was Richard's most ambitious undertaking yet—a pocket dimension designed to serve as the ultimate fusion point for all his various powers and abilities. In addition to the Space Stone that the realm had been continuously absorbing and integrating since its creation, Richard now provided Tifa with the remaining four Infinity Stones in his possession: Time, Mind, Power, and Reality. Each stone would need to be carefully analyzed and incorporated into the realm's structure without destabilizing the delicate balance he'd already achieved.
With the complex task of Divine Realm optimization safely in Tifa's capable hands, Richard settled back into his preferred role as the world's most powerful hands-off administrator. He returned to what could generously be called a "depraved" lifestyle of leisure in Silver City, though he preferred to think of it as well-deserved relaxation after constantly saving various worlds and dimensions.
Time had a way of flowing differently when one wasn't constantly fighting cosmic threats or navigating interdimensional politics.
Before he knew it, three months had passed in a blur of peaceful domesticity.
During this period, Richard divided his time between spending quality moments with Emma, Tsunade, and his other companions, and pursuing a rather unusual hobby that would have seemed absurd to most people: sunbathing near the actual Sun.
While the star that powered Earth's solar system was approximately 93 million miles away—a distance that would be insurmountable for most beings—such concerns were laughably irrelevant for someone who possessed the Cosmic Cube. Creating a spatial gateway to the Sun's vicinity was as simple as opening a door and stepping from his bedroom into the hallway.
His motivation for these stellar excursions was entirely practical: he wanted to accelerate the fusion rate of his Superboy-Prime template as efficiently as possible. The template drew power from solar radiation, and there was no more potent source in the solar system than the Sun itself.
Although Richard had long-term plans to integrate all his various abilities and power sources through the Divine Realm, rendering individual templates obsolete, that goal remained frustratingly out of reach. Until Tifa completed the optimization process—and who knew how long that might take—he still needed to rely on his current template system for maximum effectiveness.
Since he had nothing else particularly pressing to occupy his time, regular solar charging sessions seemed like a reasonable way to spend his days.
On this particular afternoon, Richard floated in the vacuum of space near the Sun's chromosphere, watching the massive star's surface writhe and dance with nuclear fire. Solar flares erupted in slow-motion ballets of superheated plasma, each one containing more energy than humanity had ever produced in its entire history. The radiation washing over him felt like a warm bath, steadily strengthening his Kryptonian-derived abilities.
Boredom eventually got the better of him, and he decided to check his system status. Opening the familiar interface, he immediately noticed something that made him perk up with interest.
The world dungeon challenge counter had refreshed at some point during his extended vacation.
[World Copy: 1 (Number of Challenges)]
Seeing that a new interdimensional adventure was available, Richard didn't hesitate for even a moment. He immediately summoned the Cosmic Cube and tore open a spatial gateway back to his study in Silver City Palace. The transition from the Sun's vicinity to his familiar office happened in the span of a single heartbeat.
"Tifa," he called out as soon as the spatial rift sealed behind him, "what's the current completion percentage on the new Divine Realm model?"
"Seventy-six percent, sir," came the immediate reply from his AI assistant.
Richard frowned slightly. After three full months of continuous optimization work, they were still less than three-quarters finished? While the progress wasn't exactly slow—redesigning a pocket dimension was admittedly complex work—he had hoped for better results by now.
"Continue the improvements," he instructed after a moment's consideration. "Priority remains on stability and power integration efficiency."
"Understood, sir."
With that matter addressed, Richard used his teleportation ability to leave the study and seek out Kaguya. He found her in her personal chambers, which had undergone a notable transformation since their return from Asgard.
It seemed that exposure to Asgard's royal library had awakened an unexpected interest in literature—specifically, romance novels. What had started as casual curiosity during their stay had blossomed into a full-blown obsession. Kaguya had become something of a shut-in, surrounding herself with stacks of books featuring passionate love stories, dramatic misunderstandings, and happily-ever-after endings.
While she still maintained her connection to the Divine Realm, drawing energy from it daily to fuel her continued evolution, she no longer felt the need to wander the globe seeking new experiences and challenges. Apparently, vicarious romance was providing all the emotional stimulation she needed.
"I'll be leaving this world for a while," Richard announced as he entered her reading nook.
Kaguya looked up from her current novel—something involving a brooding duke and a headstrong governess, judging by the cover—and nodded calmly. "I understand."
"The Divine Realm might go offline while I'm gone," he added, wanting to make sure she understood the potential consequences of his interdimensional travel.
"That's fine," she replied with characteristic composure. "I'm not in any rush to complete my evolution. I can wait for your return to continue absorbing divine energy."
Richard nodded, satisfied that she wouldn't face any problems during his absence. With that conversation concluded, he teleported away to inform the others about his upcoming departure.
His next stops were the White Queen's suite, Tsunade's medical facility, and Clarice's training rooms. Each of his companions received the same basic information: he would be traveling to another dimension for an undetermined period, and the Divine Realm might become inaccessible during his absence.
When he had brought Kaguya and Nancy back from Asgard, Richard had taken the opportunity to fully brief Emma, Tsunade, Clarice, and several others about the Divine Realm project. Like Kaguya, they now possessed authorization to draw energy from the pocket dimension, allowing them to strengthen their abilities and extend their lifespans significantly.
After completing his rounds and ensuring everyone was prepared for his absence, Richard made his way to the specialized training room he'd had constructed from pure vibranium. The Wakandan metal's unique properties made it ideal for containing exotic energies and dimensional effects—exactly what he needed for safe interdimensional travel.
Once Tifa had sealed the room's blast doors and activated its containment systems, Richard opened his system interface.
[World Copy: 1 (Number of Challenges)]
[Do you wish to randomly travel to another world to begin a world challenge?]
Without the slightest hesitation, Richard selected "Yes."
The response was immediate and dramatic. A sphere of absolute darkness materialized in front of him, easily three meters in diameter and resembling nothing so much as a miniature black hole. The void seemed to devour light itself, creating a pocket of nothingness that hurt to look at directly.
As soon as the portal stabilized, it began generating an irresistible gravitational pull. Richard allowed himself to be drawn forward, offering no resistance as the cosmic vortex swallowed him whole.
The journey through interdimensional space was mercifully brief—a swirling tunnel of colors and sensations that defied description, followed by the distinct feeling of being expelled from the other side like a seed from a fruit.
Richard found himself standing in an unfamiliar location, but before he could properly assess his surroundings, the system interface appeared before his eyes with new information.
[Current Universe: Marvel Cinematic Universe]
[World Challenge: Collect all six Infinity Stones in this universe]
[Challenge Time Limit: 10 Years]
[Challenge Reward: All templates upgraded to 100% fusion degree]
[World Restrictions: None (All abilities may be used)]
Richard's eyebrows rose as he processed this information. The random world selection had landed him in a universe that was simultaneously familiar and completely different from his own—the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where events would unfold along similar but distinct lines compared to his home reality.
The challenge itself seemed straightforward enough, though he suspected there were complications he couldn't yet see. Collecting all six Infinity Stones was theoretically simple for someone with his abilities and knowledge of future events, but the Devil was always in the details.
If there was any immediate obstacle, it would be the Soul Stone. That particular gem couldn't be claimed until Thanos made his fateful journey to Vormir and sacrificed Gamora to prove his worthiness—an event that was still years in the future. The other five stones, however, could theoretically be gathered whenever he chose to make the effort.
What puzzled him more than the challenge itself were the parameters the system had set. The ten-year time limit seemed unnecessarily generous—if he remembered the MCU timeline correctly, the entire span from Tony Stark's capture to Thanos's snap was only about ten years total. He could complete this challenge in a fraction of the allotted time if he wanted to.
Even more surprising was the reward: upgrading all his templates to 100% fusion. That was an extraordinarily valuable prize, completely disproportionate to what seemed like a relatively simple task. In his experience, when the system offered rewards that seemed too good to be true, there were usually hidden complications waiting to surprise him.
Still, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever complications might arise, he would deal with them as they came.
Richard dismissed the system interface and took his first proper look at his new environment. He was floating several thousand feet above what appeared to be a vast desert landscape, with rocky outcroppings and sparse vegetation stretching to the horizon in all directions. The terrain alone wasn't enough to pinpoint his exact location, but he had other tools at his disposal.
Without hesitation, he activated his enhanced vision—a combination of telescopic sight and x-ray perception that allowed him to see through obstacles and across vast distances. It didn't take long to locate what he was looking for.
A cluster of rough buildings and cave entrances carved into a rocky hillside, surrounded by armed men in desert camouflage and traditional Afghan clothing. Even from miles away, he could make out the distinctive symbols and equipment of the Ten Rings terrorist organization.
More importantly, he could see through the stone walls of the cave system to the two figures held captive within: Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen, the Afghan doctor who would help birth the Iron Man legacy.
Richard smiled as he recognized the scene. Based on the small arc reactor already glowing in Tony's chest, the billionaire inventor had been imprisoned for some time already—long enough to build his first miniaturized power source and begin work on the crude armor that would eventually become the Mark I suit.
This was perfect timing. He was arriving at one of the most pivotal moments in MCU history, with the opportunity to witness the birth of Iron Man firsthand.
After confirming his location—somewhere in the deserts of Afghanistan, near the Ten Rings' makeshift prison—Richard began flying toward the cave complex without any attempt at stealth or subtlety.
BOOM!
He didn't bother moderating his flight speed, accelerating to Mach 5 and creating thunderous sonic booms that echoed across the desert landscape. The sound would alert the terrorists to his approach, but that hardly mattered—he had no intention of being subtle about this rescue operation.
Within moments, he was hovering directly above the cave entrance where Tony Stark was being held prisoner. The Ten Rings guards outside were already scrambling in response to the sonic booms, shouting in multiple languages and raising their weapons toward the sky.
Richard didn't give them time to organize a response. He landed in the middle of their defensive positions like a meteor, his impact sending up clouds of dust and debris.
Before any of the terrorists could draw a bead on him, Richard activated his telepathic abilities and simply stopped them all. Twenty-three minds went blank simultaneously as he froze their conscious thoughts, leaving them standing like mannequins with their weapons half-raised.
Then, with casual efficiency that would have horrified most observers, he activated his omega-level matter manipulation abilities. The frozen terrorists and all their weapons dissolved into component atoms, leaving behind nothing but faint wisps of dispersing elements.
It was clinical, efficient, and completely bloodless from Richard's perspective—though the end result was the same as any more violent method.
With the external guards eliminated, Richard walked calmly into the cave system, his enhanced hearing picking up the sound of voices from deeper within the complex. Tony and Dr. Yinsen were apparently playing chess to pass the time, unaware that their captivity was about to come to an abrupt end.
As he moved through the tunnels, Richard encountered additional Ten Rings members—guards, mechanics, and various support personnel who had been stationed throughout the cave network. Each one suffered the same fate as their colleagues outside, dissolved into harmless atoms before they could even register his presence.
Within minutes, the entire terrorist cell had been eliminated without a single shot being fired.
"Checkmate."
Tony's voice echoed from the main chamber where he and Dr. Yinsen had been confined. The inventor sounded pleased with himself, clearly enjoying one of the few entertainments available to him during his captivity.
"Are you sure about that?" Dr. Yinsen replied, his accented English carrying a note of good-natured skepticism. "Let me take another look..."
"Don't bother checking—you're definitely in checkmate," Tony insisted with characteristic confidence. "Face it, Doc, I'm just better at this than you are."
In normal circumstances, Tony Stark would never have had the patience for chess. The game was too slow, too deliberate for someone who preferred to think and act at lightning speed. But imprisonment had a way of changing one's perspective on time and entertainment.
Just as Tony was preparing to reset the board for another game, something impossible happened. The heavy metal door that had kept them prisoner for weeks simply... ceased to exist. Not destroyed, not blown apart, not melted—it just dissolved into nothingness as if it had never been there at all.
Tony's jaw dropped as he stared at the empty doorway where solid steel had existed moments before.
"What the hell was that?" Dr. Yinsen asked, spinning around to see what had caused Tony's shocked expression.
"The door just... disappeared," Tony said slowly, his engineer's mind struggling to process what he'd witnessed. "It didn't explode or melt or anything. It just... wasn't there anymore."
Before either man could speculate further about this impossible phenomenon, a figure stepped through the doorway into their makeshift prison.
The first thing both captives noticed was the hair—impossibly long, silver-white locks that seemed to shimmer with their own inner light, cascading down past the stranger's shoulders like liquid mercury. It was the kind of hair that belonged in fantasy novels or anime, not in a terrorist cave in Afghanistan.
The man himself appeared to be in his twenties, with pale skin and features that seemed almost too perfect to be entirely human. He moved with fluid grace that suggested incredible physical conditioning, and there was something in his green eyes that hinted at vast intelligence and barely contained power.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the stranger said, his voice carrying a slight accent that neither prisoner could quite place. "My name is Richard. I'm here to rescue you."
Tony and Dr. Yinsen exchanged bewildered glances. This was definitely not what either of them had expected from a rescue attempt.
"Did the U.S. military send you?" Tony asked after a moment, his practical mind trying to make sense of the situation. "Some kind of new special forces unit?"
"No," Richard replied with a slight smile. "I have no connection to the American military or any other government organization, for that matter."
"Then who—" Dr. Yinsen began.
"Explanations can wait until we're somewhere more comfortable," Richard interrupted gently. "Gather whatever belongings you want to keep, and I'll get you out of here."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked back toward the entrance, clearly expecting them to follow.
Tony and Dr. Yinsen looked at each other again, silently communicating the same thought: What choice do we have?
As they prepared to leave their prison behind, Tony suddenly remembered something important. He rushed back to his makeshift workbench, where the technical drawings for his Mark I armor design were scattered across the surface. The schematics represented weeks of careful planning and engineering—but they also represented a weapon design that he absolutely did not want falling into the wrong hands.
Without hesitation, Tony swept up all the drawings and fed them into the small fire they'd been using for warmth. He watched carefully until every last scrap of paper had been reduced to ash, ensuring that no trace of his Iron Man design would remain for future terrorists to discover.
Only then did he and Dr. Yinsen follow their mysterious rescuer toward freedom.
Their confusion about Richard's methods became clear as soon as they left the cave system. Where dozens of armed guards had been stationed throughout the complex, there was now... nothing. No bodies, no blood, no signs of violence whatsoever. It was as if the entire Ten Rings cell had simply vanished into thin air.
"Where did they all go?" Tony asked as they emerged into the desert sunlight he hadn't seen in far too long.
"I eliminated them," Richard replied matter-of-factly.
"Where are the bodies?" Dr. Yinsen pressed, looking around the eerily empty compound.
"I decomposed them at the molecular level," Richard explained casually, as if discussing the weather. "Much cleaner that way."
The implications of that statement sent a chill down both men's spines. They had just witnessed someone with the power to disintegrate living human beings without leaving so much as a trace behind. Whatever Richard was, he was clearly not bound by the normal limitations of human capability.
Tony was about to voice some of his growing concerns when Richard pulled out what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary blue cube, roughly the size of a Rubik's cube. The moment the object appeared, reality around them began to shift and warp.
Space itself seemed to tear open in front of them, revealing a swirling vortex of energy and lightning that led to... somewhere else entirely. Through the dimensional gateway, they could see a luxurious living room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.
Tony's eyes went wide as he recognized his own Malibu mansion on the other side of the portal.
"Go ahead," Richard encouraged, gesturing toward the impossible doorway. "It's perfectly safe."
Dr. Yinsen stepped through first, either braver than Tony or simply more resigned to the impossibility of their situation. Tony followed a moment later, his mind reeling as he found himself standing in his own living room after weeks of captivity in an Afghan cave.
Richard came through last, and the portal snapped closed behind him as he casually tossed the blue cube back into some kind of pocket dimension.
"Now that you're safely home," Richard said, settling into one of Tony's expensive leather chairs without invitation, "I think it's time we discussed the matter of payment for my rescue services."
Tony stared at him, still trying to process everything that had just happened. Molecular disintegration, instantaneous teleportation across continents, casual manipulation of space-time itself—and now this impossibly powerful being was asking to be paid for his help?