Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"What the hell kind of fairness is that?!"

Adrian nearly choked on his own outrage.

Are you serious?

Tony Stark, the billionaire capitalist, had used his connections and influence to muscle me out of my own business and wipe out everything I owned!

And somehow, according to this man, the fact that Adrian was still alive was supposed to be the unfair part?

"You know something?"

Luthor remained completely calm in the face of Adrian’s fury.

"I was born into a Black family in the slums."

He glanced around the room.

"My family’s situation was worse than yours is now."

His eyes traveled across the house.

"A place like this..."

He nodded slowly.

"That’s a very nice house. For my family, owning something like this would have been an impossible dream."

"My parents worked themselves to exhaustion just to keep food on the table. We couldn’t afford proper medical care. I couldn’t afford an education."

Luthor’s story was becoming so relentlessly miserable that Adrian almost expected him to break into tears and audition for some televised talent show.

"My parents died when I was still a teenager. I had no education and no useful skills, so I ended up working for gangs."

Luthor rose from the couch.

"Eventually, I started asking myself a question."

He looked directly into Adrian’s eyes.

"Why should I spend my life as some low-level thug while capitalists sit in skyscrapers enjoying everything the world has to offer?"

His voice hardened.

"Sometimes I wondered the same thing you did."

"How could the world possibly be this unfair?"

"Exactly!"

Adrian immediately latched onto the sentiment.

"Because those corporations and their owners suck us dry! That’s why people like us end up where we are!"

"Exactly."

Luthor nodded.

"I believed that for a very long time."

Then his expression changed.

Reverence entered his eyes.

"Until I met my new employers."

"They were like beacons in the darkness."

"They trusted me."

"I accepted their teachings."

Luthor spread one hand, his voice taking on an almost fervent intensity.

"They showed me the true nature of the world. They gave me something to believe in."

"They taught me that the world is fair."

"That the world treats everyone equally."

Adrian stared at him.

He was beginning to wonder whether he needed to reconsider this entire deal.

At the very least, he needed to figure out whether Gospel Corporation was actually a gang trying to launder its money through a legitimate business...

Or a cult.

If I agree to this, are they going to lock me in a room and make me chant motivational slogans about hard work and getting rich until my brain melts?

Luthor continued.

"The strong possess everything."

"The weak lose everything."

"Fairness is that simple."

"Human civilization has developed for thousands of years, but one question has remained constant: how do we restrain the strong and protect the weak?"

"There was a time when the strong could kill the weak on a whim. Nobody would condemn them for it. People might even praise them for their courage."

"But civilization advanced."

"The strong could no longer simply kill whoever they wanted. They had to invent reasons and excuses."

"And today, even the strongest person cannot simply use whatever excuse they like to violate the law and take someone’s life or property."

"Do that, and there are consequences."

"Sometimes very serious ones."

Luthor’s eyes locked onto Adrian.

"So what you’re asking for isn’t fairness."

"It’s sympathy."

"And protection."

Adrian looked up several times.

Each time, he lowered his gaze again.

He hated how much the words bothered him.

Because he knew the truth.

Compared to Tony Stark, Adrian was unquestionably the weaker man.

And if the world operated according to pure strength, then the weak losing to the strong was simply how things worked.

He understood the logic.

He just wasn’t willing to swallow it.

Was he really supposed to accept losing everything and quietly walk away?

"I’ve said enough."

Luthor pushed the briefcase closer.

Then he removed the handgun from inside, pulled back the slide, and let the metallic click hang in the air.

The message was unmistakable.

"So."

His expression remained emotionless.

"Are you accepting the deal?"

Adrian looked down at the money.

A million dollars.

He decided he could worry about philosophical questions later.

His wife and daughter still needed food.

They needed somewhere to live.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Research."

Luthor answered immediately.

"You’ll become the assistant to our company’s chief scientist."

"What?"

Adrian stared at him.

"You’re not serious."

He was a contractor.

A construction man.

A guy who had spent his life building and dismantling things, not conducting advanced scientific research.

"What exactly is this chief scientist researching?"

Luthor didn’t answer.

"I can’t disclose the details of the project yet."

He paused.

"But our employer personally selected you."

His expression remained unreadable.

"That suggests you should be capable of handling the position."

Adrian rested his hand on the money.

His fingers tapped against the bills.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Luthor watched him hesitate and finally spoke with mild impatience.

"If I were you, I’d accept."

"These days, finding a job that can actually support a family isn’t easy."

That did it.

Adrian knew his age and education weren’t exactly going to earn him a million-dollar salary anywhere else.

And he couldn’t bear the thought of making his wife and daughter suffer because of his mistake.

"All right."

He took a breath.

"I accept."

Then he added quickly,

"But I’m bringing my team with me."

Luthor raised an eyebrow.

"They lost their jobs because I took this gamble. I’m responsible for them."

"That’s not a problem."

Luthor agreed without hesitation.

"We’re hiring people anyway."

"They won’t necessarily be doing the same work as you, but we’ll find positions for them."

"Then we have a deal."

Adrian didn’t even ask what those positions would be.

Whatever the job was, it had to be better than sitting at home watching his family starve.

Luthor handed him a business card.

"Bring your people here tomorrow and report for work."

With that, he stood and left without waiting for Adrian to see him out.

Luthor headed toward the subway.

Yes.

Despite the enormous resources at Gospel Corporation’s disposal, its employees apparently still traveled by public transportation.

The simple life.

The modest life.

The very affordable life.

Once he reached the subway station, Luthor pulled out his phone.

"Master. Mistress."

He spoke quietly.

"He’s accepted."

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, the Eredar Twins were briefing Evenson on the other candidates they had identified.

"After the enormous portal in New York was shut down, all the other hunter weapons stopped functioning."

Salorass folded her arms.

"That suggests some kind of technological lockout."

"But..."

She smiled and pulled out her phone.

"Not everything stopped working."

She opened a video.

Two masked robbers were in the middle of a bank robbery.

One wore a black hood. Judging by his build, he appeared to be male.

The other wore a pink hood and appeared to be female.

That alone wasn’t particularly remarkable.

New York had no shortage of masked criminals.

But the man in the black hood was carrying something very unusual.

Evenson’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s a Chitauri heavy blaster rifle, isn’t it?"

He watched the footage.

The man raised the weapon.

A blast tore through the bank vault door.

That settled it.

"He repaired it?"

Salorass closed the video.

"That’s what it looks like."

Evenson’s eyes lit up.

"That’s impressive."

"Repairing extraterrestrial technology in such a short amount of time?"

"Even S.H.I.E.L.D.’s scientists might not manage that."

He nodded appreciatively.

"Definitely a talented guy."

Then his expression became puzzled.

"Although I really don’t understand how some people’s brains work."

He shook his head.

"If this guy has enough talent to repair alien weapons, couldn’t he walk into practically any research institute and have them treat him like royalty?"

"Why the hell is he robbing banks?"

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