MSM Chapter 103 :Humbled

The Sentry stood between Lucien and the two planetary-level threats, holding their fists effortlessly. The golden suit gleamed in the dim light, and for a moment, everything was still.

Then the Sentry spoke, his voice calm—nothing like Bob's nervous stammering.

"Lucien, take care of the telepath. I'll neutralize them."

The emphasis on "them" made it clear he meant Captain Marvel and Hyperion.

Before Lucien could respond, the Sentry moved.

He just... moved.

One moment, he was standing there, holding both heroes' fists. The next moment, he was gone—launching out through the hole in the ceiling that Wonder Man's attack had created, dragging Captain Marvel and Hyperion with him.

The movement was so fast that even Lucien didn't catch it.

His perception ability, the one that had allowed him to follow every strike in every fight and never failed him before, completely missed the Sentry's departure.

One blink and the golden figure was gone. 

Lucien stared at the place where Sentry had been standing a second ago.

This was the first time he'd seen beings move that fast.

Captain Marvel. Hyperion. The Sentry.

Three giants who operated on a level he couldn't match. Not yet. Maybe not for a long time.

One thing Lucien had always been proud of was his speed. It was one of his strongest assets. With Quicksilver and Mana Fortification active, he could move fast enough to appear as a blur even to a lot of superpowered beings.

But seeing these three?

The Sentry had moved so fast that Lucien—with all his stats, all his perception, all his experience—hadn't even seen the motion. Just the before and after.

Captain Marvel and Hyperion had rushed at him as blurs that he'd barely tracked.

Lucien stood there, still staring at the hole in the ceiling, and felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Weak.

Not weak compared to normal people. Not weak compared to most heroes.

Weak compared to the true top tier of this planet.

He understood now, with crystal clarity, how much more he needed to grow if he wanted to truly be the strongest. How far did he still have to climb.

Level 121 with stats in the 300s. An army of 451 shadows. Skills that let him dominate most opponents.

And he still wasn't even close to the level of the Sentry.

The realization didn't scare him. But it did piss him off.

A bit more than he would like to admit.

"Something finally got you, huh?"

Tony's voice broke through Lucien's thoughts. The genius was still sitting against the pillar where the shockwave had thrown him, a slight smirk on his battered face despite the pain he was clearly in.

Lucien's jaw tightened. He wasn't in any mood to joke around.

He'd just felt weak. Inadequate. Like all his progress meant nothing compared to the beings that existed at the top of this world.

And that feeling made him angry. At himself. At the gap between where he was and where he needed to be.

Tony must have seen something in Lucien's expression because the smirk faded slightly. The genius had enough emotional intelligence to recognize when a joke landed wrong.

Lucien took a breath, forcing the frustration down. Getting angry about it wouldn't help. He just needed to keep growing. Keep getting stronger. Keep pushing forward until that gap is closed.

He looked at Tony, changing the subject. "Can you walk?"

Tony, still sitting with his back against the pillar, gave him a flat look. "What do you think?"

'Fair point.' Lucien thought.

The man had been mind-controlled, knocked out, thrown into a wall by an arc reactor explosion, and then blown across the room by a shockwave. Walking was probably not high on his list of capabilities right now.

Lucien hummed thoughtfully.

Then, from his own shadow, another shadow emerged.

It rose from the darkness at Lucien's feet like smoke given form.

The shape solidified as it climbed upward, taking on the appearance of a knight in full armor. The shadow was darker than a normal shadow should be, more solid, more real.

And, where eyes should be in the helmet, there was only empty darkness.

A Shadow Knight. One of his middle-tier soldiers.

Tony's eyes went wide. He stared at the knight, then at Lucien, then back at the knight.

"That's—" Tony started, his engineer's brain clearly trying to process what he was seeing. "You—the shadows in New York—that was you?"

Tony knew. Of course, he knew.

The news had been full of reports about shadowy figures that had rounded up criminals across New York City just days ago. Over eight thousand arrests in a single night. High-level crime bosses were found unconscious and gift-wrapped for the police with proof. And some were straight up dead.

SHIELD had been investigating, trying to figure out who or what was behind it. And Tony Stark, being Tony Stark, would have been paying attention to that kind of anomaly.

Now he was looking at one of those shadows up close, standing right in front of him.

Tony opened his mouth, probably to ask a dozen questions. How did Lucien control them? What were they? Where did they come from? How many did he have?

But he closed his mouth again. Now wasn't the time for questions. He could be curious later, after they all survived this mess.

The Shadow Knight moved forward silently, its armored boots making no sound on the concrete floor. It reached down and picked up Tony with surprising gentleness, cradling him in its arms in what could only be described as a princess carry.

Tony's expression went through several emotions in rapid succession. Shock. Confusion. Resignation. And finally, indignation.

But he didn't protest. His body was too battered to walk, and being carried was better than being left behind.

Lucien looked at Tony, his voice all business. "He'll take you out of here. You've got a lot of suits, right? Get them here and evacuate the others."

Tony nodded, understanding immediately. His suits—the Iron Legion, the backup armors, whatever he had stashed around the world. He could call them remotely, get them to help with rescue operations.

"Don't call SHIELD," Lucien continued, his tone serious. "Not until I'm done with the telepath. If they're still under Cassandra's control, their weapons of mass destruction will cause more problems than they solve."

Tony's expression darkened at that. He understood the implications. SHIELD had helicarriers, orbital platforms, and weapons capable of leveling cities. If Cassandra was still controlling key personnel, calling them in could turn this situation from bad to catastrophic.

"Understood," Tony said. Then he clicked something on his hand—a piece of armor that was still attached to his wrist, probably a bracer or gauntlet remnant. "They'll be here soon. I've got a few dozen suits in standby locations around the Pacific. ETA fifteen minutes."

Lucien nodded. Fifteen minutes was manageable.

He grabbed his dagger from where he'd dismissed it into his inventory earlier. The metal gleamed in the dim light of the underground facility.

He turned toward the stairwell that led to the lower floors. Down there, Cassandra Nova was waiting. The telepath who'd caused all of this chaos. The woman who'd controlled the Avengers, SHIELD, and countless others.

Time to end this.

The Shadow Knight carrying Tony began moving toward the stairs leading up—toward the exit, toward the surface, away from the danger.

Behind him, Tony's voice called out one last time. "At least ask it to carry me in a less embarrassing way!"

The complaint echoed through the chamber, indignant and thoroughly Tony Stark.

Lucien completely ignored it and moved downward.

His footsteps echoed in the stairwell as he descended. Each step took him deeper into the facility, closer to his target.

Lucien wondered if she knew he was coming.

She probably did—she'd been watching through her puppets' eyes this entire time. She'd seen him fight through floor after floor of her defenses. Seen him defeat Vision, Iron Man, Wonder Man. Seen the Sentry transform and drag away her strongest pieces.

She knew. And she was still waiting.

Either she had one more trick up her sleeve, or she was confident she could handle him directly.

He took a breath, centering himself. His mana was full thanks to Status Recovery. His body was completely healed. His skills were ready to use. His shadow army was waiting in his shadow storage, ready to be summoned if needed.

He was as prepared as he could be.

Lucien stepped through the doorway and into the chamber beyond.