Chapter 128 - 125 | Hand-ground Coffee, Overnight Overtime.
Twenty minutes later, the office in S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters was quiet again.
Luke shook the empty glass, went to the wine cabinet, and poured himself a glass of whisky. All of which were high-end goods from Howard. ??
Every time he went to his mansion, the Major General had to order one or two bottles of good wine, and Jarvis, the housekeeper, was kind enough to tell him the price and year to help him choose.
So much so that Howard began to complain that Luke had emptied his stock.
The Sorcerer Supreme from Karma Taj came quietly and left quietly. With a wave of her sleeves. She only left a few wisps of power.
"Kang the Conqueror … trouble one after another."
Luke leaned his head back and drank it all in one go.
With the help of the cold liquid and burning alcohol, he sorted out his chaotic thoughts.
Kang the Conqueror, for many, was an unfamiliar name.
This guy, like Deadpool's good friend Cable, was someone of the future.
He was a supervillain who had never appeared in the movies.
Kang the Conqueror himself didn't have any super ability, and his mind was average. So, he wasn't very conspicuous among various villains.
The Sorcerer Supreme couldn't mention him precisely because he could travel in time and was an expert in this field.
In the comics, Kang the Conqueror often pretended to be a historical celebrity and conquered the world with the help of time machines, high-tech armor, and future weapons.
For example, a Pharaoh of Egypt or Darius of the Persian Empire made a guest appearance as a superhero.
Like Iron Lad.
To sum up, Kang the Conqueror was a person who liked to get into trouble.
He claims to be the king of kings and is passionate about time travel, ruling one branch world after another.
He gave the Sorcerer Supreme a headache.
More and more time, branches can lead to unforeseen catastrophes of enormous proportions.
Kang the Conqueror will permanently ruin one world, then finds the next one. He enjoyed this boring game.
Even with the Ancient One's gentle character, she was so annoyed that she once wanted to kill this opponent with the Time Stone.
You can see how much trouble this time travel expert had brought the Sorcerer Supreme.
"So, Kang the Conqueror took a fancy to my timeline?"
Luke shook his glass.
This is one of the costs of obtaining permanent residency. He must expel Kang the Conqueror or wipe him out completely!
Of course, the second option was impossible.
Because this bastard's footprints were all over the timelines, killing one, there was always another; his vitality was stronger than that of a cockroach.
Otherwise, the Ancient One would have done it herself.
"This isn't too difficult."
Luke agreed with the Sorcerer Supreme. He took care of Kang the Conqueror, and the Temple of the Three and Karma Taj wouldn't come after him.
They wouldn't interfere with each other and live in peace.
This is still a good deal.
Although the title of Conqueror sounded a little bluffing, his strength is quite average.
Most of the time, he was relying on future technology to run amok. When encountering real, strong people, he could only flee.
For example, the first mutant in history, Apocalypse, once made Kang the Conqueror suffer.
Pretending to be Darius, even the 300 Spartan warriors could give him a headache —— all Spartans in that timeline were real men who could tear apart tigers and leopards with their hands and carry a lot of weight.
'As a reward, the Sorcerer Supreme also gave me a 'spoiler.' '
Luke learned about Atlantis and Namor the Sea King from the Ancient One.
As we all know, the two major American comic book studios often 'borrow' and 'pay tribute' to each other's works.
Therefore, sometimes it was customary for characters to be highly similar.
Namor, the Sea King in Marvel Studio, actually appeared earlier than Aquaman, the Seahorse rider next door … ah no, Arthur Curry.
He was the first mutant to appear in the comics and also the first superhero. He was nicknamed 'the rip-off little prince,' 'Adulterer' and 'Double-crosser.'
Specific deeds were——
Almost flooded New York and became enemies with Wakanda, was old enemies with Black Panther, and had conflicts with superheroes in The Avengers.
He joined the secret organization Illuminati and joined Thanos, whose biggest hobby was to make trouble and cuckold others.
He belongs to the type of character that jumps back and forth between superhero and villain.
"Since Atlantis has appeared, will Wakanda be far behind?"
Luke let out a long sigh. The whole face of the world began to show; this was the tip of the iceberg.
He wasn't nervous but rather full of anticipation.
"Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw, Atlantis, Namor, and Kang the Conqueror … looks like I'm going to be busy for a while."
Thinking silently, Luke added a few names to his notes.
"I saw the lights in your office was on …"
Someone pushed open the door of the office. The clacking of high heels came closer and closer.
"Still not off duty at this hour?"
The young Major General put his glass down and turned around.
"Aren't you?"
The female agent came in with a frown. Her nose twitched, and she said, "The office smells like someone else was here. Did you entertain a guest?"
"Maybe before, but now —— do you count as my guest?"
Luke smiled gently.
Seemingly aware that the atmosphere felt wrong, the female agent subconsciously took two steps back. Then she thought that she had lost momentum; instead, she held her head high and stared at the eloquent Major General, unwilling to show her weakness.
"I just came in to see since it's nothing. Then I go first."
As the manager of S.H.I.E.L.D, Carter is determined to escape from this place.
Office romance has always been taboo for her!
Besides, Luke is her boss.
If people found out, the gossip that had subsided would come flooding back to overwhelm them.
Carter didn't want to be labeled as that woman who gets promoted by sleeping with her boss.
"I'm almost done. I'm getting ready to leave work; why don't you join me?"
Luke leaned against his desk and tapped his fingers lightly.
"I heard that you live in an apartment on Northwest Boulevard, just down the road. And it's early; I can come to your house for a cup of coffee —— you won't refuse, will you?"
Carter pursed her lips; she didn't want to invite Luke to her house for coffee.
With her own understanding of this man, the other party would push his luck and make more unreasonable demands.
"I remembered I had some work to do, so I'm going to work overtime tonight."
Carter tried to dispel Luke's other thoughts diplomatically.
She couldn't help feeling a little proud when she thought of the other party's disappointed expression.
"Is that so? Since you're going to work late, it's still working hours. Can you make me a cup of coffee?"
Luke hung a smile on his lips.
"I'm not your secretary …"
Carter mumbled something, but her body still moved. She walked on her heels to the wine cabinet and pulled out a washed mug.
"By the way, Peggy, I'd like some hand-ground coffee. I'm a bit unaccustomed to the taste of instant coffee."
Luke sat down in the chair and called out to the female agent.
"Instant only!"
Carter replied stiffly.
Carrying a steaming cup of coffee, she placed it heavily on the table.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to continue my work."
Carter avoided Luke's eyes. Since the last dance… both of them were crazy that night.
Looking back on it, the female agent was blushing.
"Why don't … you work overtime here?"
Luke rested his elbows on the table, his fingers cradled his jaw, and he looked at Carter with fierce eyes.
The latter bit her lip and remained silent.
The office lights seem to have dimmed a bit. A flying bird swept through the window, its dark eyes swiveling, looking at the intense struggle between the two mammals inside.
The S.H.I.E.L.D., the headquarters building, stood quietly as the water flowed swiftly along the Potomac River. A small vortex wrapped under the current, flowing into the deeper night.