Hp/Marvel: John Wick The Witch King

John's confidence in his sister's ability to defend herself had been absolute, but recent events proved that some people would always harbor wicked intentions. A chilling coldness settled in his eyes.

When Ariana was about to take Little Bear for a bath, John stepped in. "Let me have a look at him first."

His sister, suspecting nothing, simply handed the bear over.

John carried the small doll down to his basement laboratory and, with a disarming smile, set it on a steel table. To the left sat the Casket of Ancient Winters, pulsing with a faint blue glow. To the right stood the imposing, silent form of the Destroyer Armor.

He unrolled a tool bag, the instruments within glinting under the laboratory lights. He casually picked up a scalpel sharp enough to cut through metal and eyed the bear. "Where should I begin?"

Little Bear crossed its arms in a gesture of defiant refusal.

A short while later, John had completed his examination. He extracted a suspicious-looking clump of blood, studied it for a moment, and then stuffed it back inside the bear. The viscous fluid had been… filtered.

His expression turned even stranger. "Can cotton butts filter?"

If it had been sewage, that would be one thing. But this was the blood of a Hell Lord. And the bear had filtered it?

"A stuffed bear that can use magic?" He scrutinized the doll, which was now sitting on the edge of the table, swinging its little feet. Not only could it use magic, but it had assimilated the essence of a Hell Lord. This meant the little toy deserved a new name.

"How about Hell Bear?" John mumbled to himself, then glanced at the bear and nodded in satisfaction. "Very good."

Little Bear raised its hands in protest, but John ignored it.

When Ariana came to fetch her toy, it leaped into her arms and rubbed against her, silently complaining about its new, unpleasant name. John watched them go, murmuring to himself, "A magical creation?"

Having Little Bear by Ariana's side was a good thing. The only problem was its lack of raw power. It was clever, but against a truly formidable opponent, it had been easily schemed against and nearly used as a sacrifice. It needed an upgrade.

Thinking of this, John's right hand was covered in silver. Staring at the empty slot on the gauntlet where the Mind Stone used to be, he had an idea.

High in a S.H.I.E.L.D. tower, Nick Fury stood gazing out a floor-to-ceiling window, the classic contemplative pose of every mastermind. The image was somewhat ruined by the peanuts that were being methodically flicked at the back of his head.

Agent Hill stood nearby, her eyes fixed on the floor, maintaining the professional calm expected of a top agent.

"I've lent it to you for quite some time," John said, expertly launching another peanut at Fury's shiny, bald head. "Let me use it for a bit."

Fury, who had been pretending to be engrossed in the view, fought the urge to react. He genuinely hadn't expected John to come back for the Mind Scepter. Didn't he understand that when an intelligence agency "borrowed" something, it wasn't just temporary?

And you're hitting me? Fury suppressed the throbbing vein in his temple. If only he could beat the man, he would love to show John what it meant to be the king of spies. But he couldn't. Not without calling Thor down for backup or unleashing the Hulk. And so, with forced calm, he said, "The Mind Scepter has been sent for research."

"Oh?" John stopped his peanut assault, his curiosity piqued. "Researching how to deal with wizards?"

Fury's face darkened. Can we not have a normal conversation? Does he not understand the concept of an excuse?

"Not speaking means you agree," John said with a raised eyebrow. "To ensure you don't use my scepter to do bad things, I have the right to inspect it."

Fury, Hill, and the very spirit of S.H.I.E.L.D. collectively blinked. Did he even hear himself? Every time he met John, Fury felt a headache coming on. He took a deep breath and gave Hill a look.

"We can ensure the scepter will not be used for malicious purposes," she said dutifully.

"I don't believe you," John replied with a shrug. "You also said you'd use the Tesseract for heating." The meaning was clear: You have a record.

Agent Hill fell silent. He was right.

Fury's headache intensified. He couldn't figure out why John was suddenly so insistent. The scale in his mind wavered between calling for backup and just handing the scepter over.

"Don't worry," John said, sensing his hesitation. "I'll only take it for a few days. After that, I don't mind lending it to you for research again. You can't take all the benefits."

As the one who had recovered the scepter—though Fury suspected he was also the one who'd "lost" it in the first place—John had a point. Their agreement was that the item belonged to him. A temporary retrieval was reasonable. But if this became a habit, they might as well just give it to him permanently.

"Last time," Fury conceded.

John looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Alright," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "But if you lose it again, don't blame me for taking it back for good."

"Okay," Fury agreed immediately, adding with a pointed look, "provided no one is crying wolf while being the thief."

"Then you'd better protect it well."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is the safest place in the world," Fury declared.

John didn't care. He knew the scepter would disappear again eventually. And it wasn't always his fault.

As John started to head for the vault, Fury stopped him and called for the bald agent, Sitwell. "Bring the Mind Scepter." He didn't want John "finding" anything else in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret warehouse.

Sitwell, receiving the order, froze. The scepter? Why?

Seeing him still standing there, Fury said impatiently, "Do I have to say 'please'?"

"No, Director. I'll go right away." Sitwell squeezed out a pale smile. The moment he turned, his face was a mask of panic. Have we been discovered? Did they find out about Hydra during the internal spy incident? It shouldn't be possible; they had cut their ties so cleanly. Should we reveal ourselves?

His mind in chaos, he gritted his teeth and went to contact his Hydra comrades to return the scepter first. Maybe he just wants to look at it.

Two hours later, John checked the time and gave Fury a suspicious look. "You're not letting him run off with it, are you?"

Fury's face was grim. Just as his patience wore thin, Sitwell finally jogged in, carrying the case. Fury took it, glanced inside, and handed it to John, who picked up the scepter and turned to leave without ceremony.

Sitwell opened his mouth to protest, but John just glanced at him. "Nice tie."

"Thank you," Sitwell mumbled, watching John leave S.H.I.E.L.D., his head buzzing.

John took the scepter straight to his lab and locked himself away for several days. During this time, Natasha came to visit, and a new drama unfolded.

Little Bear and Natasha's own pink bear, a gift from John, stood facing each other with palpable hostility. This was probably, to a very, very small extent, related to the fact that the brown bear had once used the pink bear, then unable to move, as a punching bag.

Now, Little Bear jumped into Ariana's arms, looking calm and composed, the undisputed leader of the main palace. The pink bear, meanwhile, showed off its talents, serving tea and trying to win Ariana's attention. A shadow of gloom crossed the brown bear's expressionless face.

As long as I live, its aura seemed to say, you will always be a concubine.

Natasha watched the two bears vying for her friend's affection and felt utterly bewildered. Isn't this the home of superheroes? What is this harem drama?

The domineering Little Bear immediately turned cute and cuddly when Ariana rubbed its belly. While this drama played out, John stared at the Mind Scepter in his lab. He had once again extracted its energy, and it was now noticeably dimmer.

"What should I say so they believe it's just out of power?" he wondered. It was like a light bulb running low on batteries. Only the outer shell was dim; the gem inside was still bright, but S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't know that. If he gave it back like this, they'd think he'd drained it dry.

To avoid any misunderstanding, he took out his wand and pointed it at the scepter's core. "Lumos."

Manually lit.

Looking at the bright blue light, John nodded with satisfaction. Now no one could tell its energy had been extracted. It would also save Fury the trouble of worrying about hair loss.

What a benevolent Wizard King.

He handed the scepter to Natasha to return. She eyed the much brighter weapon with suspicion, then looked at John's calm face and left without a word. The pink bear was reluctant to leave but was ruthlessly shut out by Little Bear.

John looked at the gems of his Infinity Gauntlet. It was time for some upgrades. And he would start with Moss.

[Chapter Complete]

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