CHAPTER 129 - A GLIMPSE OF THE UNIVERSE'S DARK SIDE

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"Please, spare me! I have 3 wives and 8 children! Have pity for them if not for me, please! They can't survive if I die!" The Xoraxian with cybernetic implants begged the looming executor in front of his kneeling self.

However, unlike the grace he fervently hoped for, his executor's cold apathetic voice sounded with the crushing decree of the end of his living journey.

"Don't worry. They will be joining you soon." The red eyes that stared at him killed his hopeful prayers and hollowing despair, leaving him with only the calm of acceptance.

The last thing he saw was a red light that blocked his view of his loyal and hardworking subordinates who all laid unmoving, dead, and then he knew nothing no more.

Not the concerns of his loving family, the worrying dangers his subordinates' families would be thrust into, or how his subordinates were heinously murdered.

They all lead true and honest lives - never making enemies of others or quickly resolving any instance of one. But then, life was always cruel, not unfair, cruel. Always favoring the strong and mighty.

The top of the food chain. Also where 99% of living beings could never reach in their lives. Oh life, how cruel thou truly art.

"I think we are about done with them. Only his family remains." The executor, a red haired woman with glowing red eyes, spat out with disgust as she turned away from the dust remains of the disintegrated leader.

The burning ship rumbled with sparks running through it but the woman, looking unconcerned, walked out of the cockpit, taking careful steps not to step on the sea of dead bodies that littered every part of the ship.

"Done?" She asked as she came across a woman wielding dual daggers, who succinctly replied. "Thoroughly."

"Then let's go. This place makes me sick." She said and walked past her companion towards the portal that opened just spawned.

The portal closed as soon as both women stepped through it, just 3 seconds before the ship broke down to space dust with the explosion that followed.

In another cloaked ship hundreds of kilometers away, the two women stepped out of the portal's endpoint and turned to the sole person who welcomed their arrival.

"Where's Pietro?" The red head, Wanda, asked upon noticing her speedster sibling's absence.

Vision's absentminded reply informed her inquiry while his hands tap-danced on floating keyboards. "He's taking care of the loose ends. Reckon he'll be back any moment now."

Wanda nodded and proceeded to walk out of the cockpit. "I'm going to take a bath. Maybe do a mind cleanse while I'm at it as I feel that my body is not the only thing that is feeling dirty."

"That bad, huh?" Vision asked Sif, the sole audience in the room which brought out a wry smile in her previously cold face as she looked at the door Wanda walked through.

"It's a normal reaction that can even affect a coldhearted vermin, talk less of a noble spirit." She said and started walking towards the door, also feeling the need to have a bath and washed her bloodied body.

"Even you?" Vision questioned curiously.

"Even me. I'm just used to it and don't let it affect my mind all that much, not that the grim reminders are ever a past thought." With that she left to her quarters, leaving Vision to whatever had his attention, or at least his visual focus.

Wanda came back a few minutes later, looking a lot calmer than how distraught she looked before her bath. She peeked a look at what Vision was doing over his shoulders and left him to himself after receiving long hot kisses from him before Sif's arrival put a stop to it.

She sat with Sif, studying a magic codex on her lap and chatting with the female Asgardian who was cleaning and sharpening her swords and weapons.

Pietro arrived later as if he had forcefully been chugged out of existence(which he had) panting.

Vision glanced at him and opened his palms and something from Pietro's belt flew into his palms which drew his focus from the panting silver haired speedster but not his remark.

"That's over 10 minutes late from my highest estimate. What happened?" The disc in his hands broke down into smaller parts except a tiny piece of it which enlarged to a bigger size as Vision took hold of it.

Finally getting his breath in order, Pietro stood up after the dizzy spell faded away and complained. "Well those guys were the worst. So much so that I decided to go extra slow just so they knew they were going to die. Didn't want them to die peacefully or without them knowing when or how they died."

Pietro looked at Wanda and Sif chatting together after they acknowledged his presence and made the popular decision of taking a bath. "That thing felt too trippy to use. Regular people will definitely have some form of deformities if they go through that. Might even become vegetables from the damn woozy you get with every jump."

Vision silently noted the user review and stored it aside. Giving the mental commands, the ship started moving for the return journey as Pietro joined them again after being gone for seconds, drawing a frustrated slight complaint from his younger twin.

"Why do you speedrun bathing of all things? How do you even enjoy it? I bet it's a spin for a wash and one for a rinse."

Pietro snorted and stole the bowl of snacks Wanda had at her side. "I'm not discussing my bathing decisions with you, Wanda."

"Never wanted to hear it. Just asked because of an off-putting curiosity." She said a side glare at him while her partner just ignored them all together, getting used to their sibling banter, one she is familiar with in the case of Thor and Loki… which was not a good comparison after she gave it another thought.

"So? Anyone wants to fill me in, or is it bad that you don't want to talk about it?" Vision waved the projection in front of him and turned to his group.

"Where do I even begin with this shit?" Pietro started with a tired drawl. "Imagine the vileness of the ancient barbarians from earth, every single evil thing you can think of, big and small, from the sacrifices to cannibalism and everything around and in between. Can you paint that mental picture?"

"Quite literally if you want." Vision said dryly.

"Haha, nice one." Pietro gave him a thumbs up with a facial expression that didn't match his chirpy tone or his gestures, nevertheless he continued. "So yeah, take that and then imagine the kindest and most peaceful people you can think of - the type that'll sit with a beggar and converse with him for hours on hours, even helping him beg the passing crowd, just to make him feel loved and important. Got it, good."

Now he sat, chuckling as he saw Wanda's twitching face, popped a few candies and nuts into his mouth - the alien variety -, and brought his two hands out and slowly inched them to each other until they touched and intertwined fingers together, all the while narrating his tale with crisp visual as if wanting Vision to see exactly what he saw and experience, down to the last pebble.

"Now take those two and bond them together, down to their tiniest cells. An interesting combination, right, but it's not the end as we can't forget the little condiments that spice everything up to a wholesome package." Gone was the chirp in his voice and the gestures, leaving only a deep and apparent disgust and hatred as every syllable left his mouth.

"Add in a little Newton, Alexander the great, Einstein, Plato, Confucius, Sun Tzu and Da Vinci. Hell, throw in Martin Luther King and Michael Jackson into the mix as well, cause why not? With the suaveness and eloquence of a high class prostitute, pure heart of a samaritan and the actions of any evil you can think of, I give you one of the wonders of the known universe – the Xoraxians." Pietro finished his rant with cold fury-stoked eyes that were reflected in those of Wanda and Sif, and slowly laid his back to rest on his chair with a closing remark.

"And all those worst things you thought of, even the smallest one like badmouthing a person, they never do it to one of their own. Fucking creeps. I wish someone blows up their planet."

"…"

Sigh.

"…Looks like you guys went through a lot, mostly mental I'd say." Was all Vision could say after all that, which caused Pietro to chuckle sarcastically, Wanda snorting, and Sif giving a raised eye as if that was all he could say, all to which he could only shrug.

"Hopefully, you guys can get refreshed, clear your heads, and possibly expunge the murderous forethought you are all leaking out, when we port. Sif and I will claim our reward and wring out some info from our client, maybe use a little bit of coercion to make it smoother." He said as their ship shook a bit as it landed on the docks of Kamdor, their temporary base until they got some new info.

"I thought the place was too secure to be causing problems." Wanda asked as they all walked out of the ship, passed security, and reentered the beautiful city.

Vision patted her on her shoulders with a patronizing look on his face and infuriating words that complimented his face. "Oh Wanda, don't you know that there's no such thing as a perfect defense? Doubly so when it comes to technology."

She glared at him and slapped off his hands but Vision only smiled in amusement. "Creating blind spots in its surveillance is easy. And besides, they don't invade private residences with their surveillance system."

Sif patted Wanda and Pietro on their shoulders with sympathetic comfort. "Simons is right. A warrior's mind is his greatest weapon, more so than his weapon. A strong mind yields an unbreakable resolve, and an unbreakable resolve leads to greater strength. And trust me when I say this, the universe has much worse to show."

They nodded and trudged their way along, Pietro leading Wanda along for a quick exploration while the other two, Sif and Vision, went ahead with their mission.