"This is truly rare!"
Artoria looked at Queen Medusa before her in surprise. Usually, the Inhumans wouldn't seek her out, yet the Queen of the Inhumans had personally come calling. Judging by her expression, Artoria understood: she needed a favor. Something must have happened to the Inhumans for the Queen to appear before her. That's why Artoria exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Medusa. The Medusa who usually possessed a full queenly aura now appeared very reserved in front of Artoria, occasionally showing awkwardness, which made Artoria even more curious.
"I'm sorry, Artoria, I cannot let anyone else know about this. Now, I can only rely on you."
Hesitation and worry flashed across Medusa's face alternately. Finally, Medusa set aside her burdens and pleaded with Artoria. Medusa's state was clearly wrong. Artoria quickly brewed her a cup of tea, signaling her to calm down; it wasn't too late to talk. Artoria truly couldn't imagine what kind of trouble could cause Medusa, the Queen, who was usually so composed, to become like this. It was truly hard to fathom.
"The King... the King, he has completely lost contact. I was only gone for half a day, and all I saw was blood on the Throne. The King is gone without a trace. I am so worried about him."
Listening to Medusa's fragmented narration, Artoria understood the source of Medusa's anxiety. Something had happened to Black Bolt, and it was no small matter. Artoria truly couldn't believe that someone could successfully attack a person possessing such formidable strength. Yet, the facts were right before her eyes. No matter how unbelievable the truth was, she had to accept it: Black Bolt had indeed been attacked.
"Are there any clues?"
Taking a deep breath, Artoria spoke calmly to Medusa. Since Medusa had come to her, she had no choice but to get involved, especially considering her relationship with Crystal. Artoria didn't want to see that adorable child crying over the loss of her family. Thinking this, Artoria motioned for Medusa to calm down. Since the perpetrators kidnapped the King of the Inhumans, the King must be useful to them. Black Bolt should be temporarily out of mortal danger. Artoria carefully analyzed the situation: the Inhumans had only recently arrived on Earth and hadn't offended many people, so no one should be targeting him. However, Artoria considered one possibility: had Hydra acted again?
The Inhumans had thoroughly offended Hydra. If this hypothesis were true, everything would make sense. But Artoria felt something was off. Could the current Hydra possess such immense strength? As the King of the Inhumans, Black Bolt was not to be trifled with; he could destroy a city with a single utterance. To accomplish this feat, they would need at least five Serum Super-Soldiers like Captain America, and that would require a sneak attack to prevent Black Bolt from opening his mouth. But if that were the case, with so many people entering Attilan, were the defending Inhumans all asleep?
"No, I didn't find any information in the King's Hall."
After hearing Artoria's question, Medusa thought for a moment, then shook her head helplessly. Artoria looked at the still-worried Medusa. If Queen Medusa found no clues, it suggested the perpetrators might have cleaned up the scene. This behavior was very different from what Artoria expected of Hydra. If Hydra had successfully accomplished this, they would likely have already announced their spoils to the world.
However, Artoria had Saturday run a search and found no information published by Hydra, so Artoria ruled them out. Although this action might be hasty, Artoria couldn't focus all her attention on Hydra. If she kept staring at Hydra, which had less than a fifty percent chance of being the culprit, she might let the real perpetrator slip away. Artoria patted Queen Medusa's shoulder to console her.
"You should go back for now! Can you hold things together for a while? We will search for Black Bolt."
Since there were no clues, Artoria could only let Medusa return first. She had no other options, as searching alone was impossible. After sending Medusa off, Artoria picked up the image of the King's Hall that Medusa had left behind. She planned to go find her older brother. There was no choice; her older brother was much stronger and more reliable than Hope and her group.
"Artoria, what brings you here today?"
Action upon thought—that was Artoria's consistent principle. Artoria took the item left by the Queen and arrived at her older brother's new residence. It used to be Stark Tower; after the Avengers were formed, Tony changed Stark Tower into Avengers Tower. But now that the Avengers had disbanded, Avengers Tower had reverted back to Stark Tower. Artoria went to the top floor and found her older brother, who looked pale and very weak. Seeing Artoria arrive, Tony happily instructed his Armor to brew coffee and asked Artoria what was going on.
"What's wrong with you? Did you stay up all night?"
The moment she saw Tony, Artoria stopped thinking about the Inhumans. What was going on with her brother? He looked so physically overdrawn, like he was about to 'kick the bucket.' It made Artoria's heart ache. What on Earth had Tony been doing to need to stay up like this? Was he trying to create new comrades-in-arms? Even so, there was no need to push himself so hard! Artoria looked at her brother with concern and asked him.
"I'm fine, Artoria. I've just been a bit tired lately."
Seeing how concerned his sister was, Tony, despite his exhausted body, smiled and raised his hand in a muscle-flexing gesture. He signaled to Artoria that he was perfectly fine and just needed some rest for his mental fatigue. However, Tony's words made Artoria look at him very suspiciously. With her intuition, she felt that Tony was lying to her; his physical condition was not particularly optimistic.
"Artoria is here? Tony, why didn't you let me know?"
Just as Artoria was preparing to retreat and let her brother get some proper rest, Pepper walked in carrying a fruit plate. She looked at Artoria sitting on the sofa with pleasant surprise and gave Tony a reproachful look. Artoria looked at the radiant Pepper with confusion, feeling that she had become even more beautiful, like a blade of grass nourished by spring rain, full of vitality. Artoria then turned to look at her brother's state. It was obvious; upon seeing Pepper, Tony helplessly covered his face with one hand to hide his expression from Artoria. In that instant, Artoria understood exactly what had happened.
"I was just passing by and dropped in, Pepper."
After putting down the fruit plate, Pepper sat down next to Artoria. She happily took Artoria's hand, wanting to chat about domestic life. Artoria looked at the glowing Pepper and then shot a pair of 'Byakugan' glares directly at her brother. Life requires moderation! How could you be so unrestrained? Seeing you like this reminds me again of my'Second Brother' who will never return; you're breaking my heart, you know?
"I'll leave this matter to you, brother. Pepper, let's go out and play!"
"Sure!"
Now that she knew the reason, Artoria's heartache for Tony turned directly into contempt. She placed the items the Queen had left behind in front of Tony, explained the situation, and then pulled Pepper away. Pepper was happy to spend time with Artoria anyway. As for Tony, he was now 'abandoned' by the two women he loved most.
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