Chapter 501: Blood Moon Tonight (1)
As Schiller and Khonshu entered the room, the person at the center of the room opened his eyes. However, Khonshu didn't see any signs of violence or madness in his eyes. His eye contact seemed calm, even somewhat indifferent.
Schiller approached, undoing the iron chains as he asked, "Since you've entered Marc's mind, you should know his current condition and how many personalities he has, right?"
"Two," Khonshu replied.
Schiller glanced at him and then said, "He should have more than just two personalities."
Khonshu didn't deny it but explained, "Currently, he indeed has only two personalities, but it seems another one is forming."
"What's the name of the existing personality?" Schiller paused in his actions, turning his head to Khonshu.
"Jack," Khonshu answered.
"As expected..." Schiller continued his work, almost muttering to himself, "A very rare case."
After a moment, he looked up at Khonshu and asked, "Can you have two avatars simultaneously?"
Khonshu was a bit puzzled by the question, as Schiller was the first human he had encountered who seemed fine working with other believers. Moon Knights he had encountered before always acted like they were the only unique superpowered beings."Do you know? Marc's condition is extremely rare in psychological research. He's a fascinating case. If we could provide him with a series of treatments, perhaps my new paper would have substance."
"Sure," Khonshu agreed without hesitation. In truth, whether it was giving power to Marc or to Schiller, it meant little to him.
All the Spacedemon gods were like this. While their avatars gained significant power from them, in reality, this power was a drop in the bucket. Just like the Darkhold entity Chthon, who could contract with both Scarlet Witch and Hydra Lady simultaneously, Moon God Khonshu could also have two avatars at the same time. For him, even adding another avatar would cause negligible strain.
"Alright, since he's quite interested in my spy's identity, let's work together on the mission to eliminate Ammit."
With this statement, Schiller had already unchained the walls on both sides of the room. He then turned to Khonshu and asked, "Do you know what has led to Marc's current mental state?"
"It's his childhood."
Upon hearing this answer, Schiller's work paused again. He turned around, looking at the figure in the room, then glanced outside the door before continuing with the chains, saying:
"Ninety percent of multiple personality disorder cases stem from childhood trauma."
After saying this, he quickly added, "Yes, I've seen quite a few similar cases. For example, individuals with a personality that's green and immensely strong..."
With a clank, the last chain attached to the ceiling was also undone. Schiller walked up to Khonshu's side, looked at him, and said:
"If I remember correctly, Marc's summoned battle suit seems to be made from the shroud of Mumm-Nyon. Honestly, it triggered a memory for me..."
Schiller paused for a moment, seemingly lost in his memories. Then, with a hint of nostalgia, he said:
"When I used to wear this restrictive garment, I often fantasized about being inside the coffin as Mumm-Nyon."
Schiller turned his head, along with Khonshu, both looking at the figure in the room wearing the attire of a mentally disturbed patient's restraints. He continued:
"Still somewhat reminiscent, isn't it?"
As moonlight descended upon the figure, the clasps of the restraints began to slowly come undone.
Within the Avengers' base, Natasha stood at the front of the meeting table, her expression serious as she said, "Just now, I received a message from Director Fury. Doctor Schiller has been arrested by the Central Intelligence Agency!"
As her words fell, the people's reactions were diverse, but the anticipated atmosphere of anxiety didn't quite materialize. Stark was the first to speak, making a cross gesture over his chest and saying, "God bless the CIA."
Steve rubbed his chin and said, "Schiller being arrested by the CIA... I mean, the CIA arresting Schiller, what's it all about?"
"They claim that someone reported Schiller as a spy."
"That's not entirely unfounded!" Stark retorted irritably. Evidently, he still remembered Schiller's previous personality as Hydra.
The only one showing slight anxiety was Peter, who asked, "So, should we rescue him?"
"Forget it," Stark waved his hand, saying, "The CIA arrested Schiller, and what would we be rescuing them for?"
"It's not that simple," Barton coughed and said, "Doctor Schiller is, after all, our friend and has provided us with a lot of help..."
"The most help he provided me with was making Pepper marvel at the medical expense column on my year-end financial report for a whole three days, and then giving me that strange look for three weeks!" Stark exclaimed angrily.
"You actually included psychological treatment fees as medical expenses?" Steve looked at Stark and asked, puzzled for a moment before continuing, "I've heard that my psychological treatment fees are reimbursed as weapon maintenance..."
Barton immediately covered Steve's mouth with his hand and said, "The Director's understanding of economics is different from ordinary people's. Let's not discuss this topic!"
Unbeknownst to them, Stark couldn't resist sneering, "Indeed, if you were a weapon, you wouldn't have worn out yet, the miracle of Humanity's weapon maintenance field..."
Seeing the two about to start fighting again, Natasha slammed the table with force and said, "Schiller is an employee of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Avengers operate under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s management. Rescuing Doctor Schiller is our upcoming task, and we can't refuse it!"
Matt pondered for a moment and then said, "So, someone reported Schiller? Could it be Nick Fury? With Schiller arrested, he won't have to pay the astronomical medical fees anymore..."
Natasha turned her head slightly, coughed softly twice, and then said, "That's not important. What's important is that we need to complete this urgent task first."
"Doctor Schiller is part of the logistical medical team, not even a combatant. If we don't rescue him, the CIA might subject him to torture for information..." Natasha struggled with her words as she explained.
The others glanced at the ceiling, then at the table, but none of them responded.
Just then, Natasha's phone suddenly rang. The female agent looked down, picked up the phone, and said, "Hello? I'm in a meeting, giving instructions for an urgent mission. Can it wait?"
"What? They're missing?"
Everyone immediately turned their heads to look at Natasha. Frowning, she spoke into the phone, "Are you saying that Doctor Schiller is missing from the CIA? And another agent named Marc is missing too? Where did they go?"
While Natasha was speaking on the phone, a "whoosh" sound was heard as the combat suit on a nearby rack flew over, and Stark immediately geared up.
"You can't trace their whereabouts? Why not? Wasn't there surveillance? A mass of gray mist and a hooded individual – what are you talking about?"
Steve stood up from the table, walking to the adjacent pool table to pick up his shield. Matt went to the ammunition storage to check his supplies, Spider-Man fiddled with his wrist-mounted spider web shooter, and vampire hunter Erik began sharpening his blades.
"Alright, the rescue mission is temporarily suspended... I understand, I will inform them."
After saying that, Natasha put down the phone, shrugged, and said, "Well, now you don't need to go. Doctor Schiller has disappeared from the Central Intelligence Agency's base. We can't trace his whereabouts at the moment. The meeting is over, you can disperse."
At this moment, Natasha turned her head and saw Steve, who had already walked to her side. Steve, with his deep blue eyes, was also looking at her. The two stared at each other for a while. Steve said, "Thank you, ma'am. That was a splendid meeting, but could you move aside a little?"
Natasha extended a foot and took a step to the side. Steve stood at the center of the long table and said:
"Eddie, Matt, the two of you provide three sets of operational plans within five minutes and send them via computer to everyone's communication devices..."
"Tony, Peter, and Shadow, work together in New York, searching for any possible leads. Once you find something, contact me immediately through the communication devices!"
"Natasha, Barton, the two of you go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and request access to all surveillance in the state of New York. Prepare helicopters and aircraft, be ready to provide on-site support..."
"I and the others will head to the CIA to investigate potential leads and track their whereabouts..."
"If there are no objections..." Steve looked around, lifted his shield, and said, "Avengers, assemble!"
"Wait! I have a question!" Eddie raised his hand. Seeing everyone's attention on him, he hesitated a bit before asking, "Operation plan against whom?"
Stark turned his head in exasperation. Steve shook his head as if deflated. Even Venom let out a deep sigh in Eddie's mind.
Eddie spread his hands and stared at them. Stark looked at him and said, "Who else could it be? Of course, it's Schiller!"
Seeing Eddie's gaze and those of the others, Stark tapped the table with his metal-covered gauntlet, creating a clear sound that drew everyone's attention. He said:
"The CIA received a report, wanting to arrest Schiller. This means Schiller is up to something again, trying to implicate the CIA, to pull them down and trap them. The CIA's successful arrest of Schiller signifies that he might be trying to set up something bigger..."
"The CIA arrested Schiller. A few hours later, we received this news. It indicates Schiller wants to join forces with Nick and ensnare the CIA in something big..."
"And the big problem is, Schiller mysteriously disappeared from the CIA! "
Stark, having read numerous psychology books, spoke with certainty, "Have you forgotten? Schiller has always claimed to be an ordinary person. If nothing happened, he wouldn't disappear mysteriously. He might have silenced the group of agents interrogating him, or he might have been acquitted in court and then left..."
"Now, his mysterious disappearance means he must have used abilities beyond those of an ordinary person. That suggests he's not targeting the CIA, but likely someone else with special abilities..."
Steve sighed as well, saying, "I remember, shortly after I couldn't get through to his phone, Andromeda Nebula suffered."
"You're reminding me." Stark slapped his forehead, saying, "Natasha, later contact Sanctum Sanctorum and ask if Strange has seen him, then have Strange contact Asgard, ask Loki, and also check with the mutants..."
"Wait a moment!" Blade Erik interjected, "Do we really need to be this hasty? He's just... uh, been missing for a few hours."
"He's been missing for several hours!" Stark suddenly raised his voice, massaging his temples and frowning, "My goodness, go check the nearest stars to Earth, and the Spacedemon gods closest to Earth..."
As he said this, the others grew increasingly anxious. Once everyone started moving, Natasha swiftly walked out of the room. Taking out her phone in a hurry, even before she could ask, she heard Nick's voice on the other end:
"No need to ask. The disappearance isn't part of our plan. Quickly, notify the spies, relay the message to all the enemies we can contact, have them lay low!"
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