Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1551 The Lunar War (Sixty-Three)

A pair of bloodshot, sticky eyes peered out from the narrow window, dirty, wrinkled fingers gripping the steel edge tightly. Upon hearing that name, the owner of those hands let out a heart-wrenching, weary laugh. "My red-haired little bitch, why did she remember me?" Maximus gripped the edge of the observation window tightly, the chains on his hands rattling. "Why doesn't she come to me? Is she afraid I'll tell others how subservient she was to me? Is she afraid I'll tell my brother about her obsessive advances towards me? Don't worry, I already told Blake. He knows all of Medusa's little secrets, even which bed she slept with me in."

Crystal blushed furiously at Maximus's words. "Don't slander her!"

"Yes, yes." The voice behind the steel gate chuckled nervously. "Do you know what Medusa's plans are for you, Crystal? Do you know what she's capable of for her own benefit? It seems you're eager to know, otherwise you would have interrupted me already... You know, we grew up together, our relationship isn't worth me deceiving you... Why didn't she come to see me herself, but instead had you, a little whore, appear before me? She's planning to use you to bribe me, even if she used herself to bribe me in the past?"

"Shut up, you traitor!"

"Alright, alright." Maximus relaxed his tense fingers, and Crystal felt his voice distance itself from her. In her haste, she took a few hasty steps forward, and if Tetanus hadn't bitten her clothes in time, she wouldn't have even been able to react. "I'm fine here alone now, even the jailers treat me with respect. But they haven't come in a long time." His voice stretched into the darkness, "Has something happened? Did my brother get overthrown, and those opportunists fled? I'm not surprised at all; after all, he was a freak, a short-sighted, stupid freak. Those outwardly respectful subjects knew nothing but their own interests. Do you know why I accepted the Kree envoy? I didn't want the Inhumans to become Kree war slaves again, but I knew Attilan couldn't fight the Dark Order, and only the Kree Empire had the ability to keep Attilan alive."

"This is not a reason for you to kill the King and Queen!"

"I swear it was an accident." Maximus's voice was heavier. "Medusa knew, but she never told anyone because she knew my father favored my brother. That red-haired bitch—excuse me for calling her that, but I never imagined she would treat such a close relationship of so many years as dust. I sacrificed so much for her, otherwise how could you become a princess while she could put her pretty little ass on the queen's throne—after that incident, all my plans for the future of the Inhumans of Attilan were inherited by my brother, and ironically, no one else even knows who first proposed that idea."

The locktooth dog nudged Crystal's shoulder with its big head.

“I’m fine, just tetanus.” Crystal sniffed, calming the tears that Maximus had brought on. “No matter what, I need your help.” She said to the viewing window, “My sister… she… she was attacked by assassins. We’re at war with Earth, and the situation on the front lines is terrible.” Crystal rambled on for a while, and Maximus didn’t interrupt or provoke her further. After about ten minutes, the voice accompanied by the sound of chains approached again. “Cousin Richard said that my sister’s consciousness needs protection for a full neurosurgery. You are the most powerful mind reader in the royal family, Maximus. I believe you can help my sister.”

"Has humanity's technology advanced to the point where it can attack Attilan?" Maximus asked in a low, slow voice. To Crystal's surprise, Maximus didn't focus on Medusa's attack and subsequent treatment, but rather on Attilan's current predicament. Although Crystal knew this was normal, something felt off; she had expected Maximus to be more concerned about her sister Medusa.

"While I'm not surprised by this outcome, how did all this happen? Why didn't he wipe them out before human technology even began? Oh... foolish kindness. You know, I don't object to his kindness, but he never understood our relationship with humanity. Yes, we are a race that evolved from humans, and those humans would certainly hate us, see us as aliens, simply because we resemble them. At least most people of noble blood resemble them, like you and me..."

Crystal remained silent.

"Now let's talk about your sister, my red-haired little bitch." Maximus cleared his throat. "You came to see me without my brother's permission, didn't you? Have you thought about how to clear your name, Crystal?" Crystal stammered a few words but didn't answer. "To be precise, what do you intend to offer in exchange for my help? You haven't even thought about that, have you?"

Crystal's mouth dropped open, speechless. She truly hadn't considered this question. Maximus seemed to see her expression and scoffed mercilessly. "You've always been a brainless, foolish girl. No wonder Medusa promised me she'd make you my breeding mother."

"I'm not stupid enough to believe you, Maximus."

“It’s alright, Crystal. You’ve always been the little sister among our group of playmates. I consider you my own sister,” Maximus said. “I’m not as wicked as Medusa. Everything I did was for Attilan, not for myself. Tetanus, I can smell you… Why are you so afraid of me now, my good dog?”

He extended a scarred arm from the viewing window. A brass device with metallic spikes pierced his palm, passing between the metacarpal bones and locking in place. Layers of scar tissue had formed where the device had touched the skin, creating new skin from the scar tissue. The device was connected to a flexible tube, in which a long, thin thread of blood slowly moved within a clear, transparent liquid. It was a near-permanent sedative injection device, deemed necessary by the Genetic Council given Maximus's powerful mental abilities and mind-reading powers. Black Bolt offered no objection; he too believed his blood brother needed prolonged sedation.

Crystal's sympathetic gaze burned his skin like a branding iron.

"This stuff almost ruined my brain. Do you know what happens when you exceed the recommended dose of sedatives? Do you know they don't always give me sedatives?" Maximus said slowly. "Sometimes they give me hallucinogens or opioids. I've tried needing medication, the type depending on whether the guards here need me to take action against other prisoners."

"What do you mean?"

"Some prisoners are irritable, some are terrified, and they all need to be calmed down. Some prisoners are determined and refuse to divulge any information, and in these cases, someone needs to drill into their minds, dig out memories from individual neurons, and piece together a reasonable explanation. Those lowly jailers arrogantly demand my help simply because they can provide me with plenty of food."

"I...I will protest, Maximus!" Crystal said. "No one will bully you anymore!"

"Of course not, dear Crystal. You're a kind girl, kind but foolish." The cell door swung open with a violent metallic scraping, and Maximus stood behind it with a broad smile, his hand still in the same position as when he pushed the door open. A corpse dressed as a jailer lay at his feet. Crystal recoiled in fright, not noticing the dark red pus flowing from the jailer's eyes and nose. "I don't need anyone else's help. I can manage on my own."

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(End of this chapter)