Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

Thanos put his helmet back on, ignoring the corpses of his subordinates lying around him.

There was no fear in his eyes—only a flame burning deep within them.

A moment later, a low, resonant voice echoed through the cabin:

"How naive."

"Young Aesir... I can feel it. You're cursed with knowledge—just like me."

"Then you should understand... how powerful I've become after living for over a thousand years!"

As soon as he finished speaking—

Boom!

Thanos crushed the alloy floor beneath him and charged at Russell like a cannonball!

Russell reacted instantly. His telekinesis erupted, freezing the air like amber.

Thor suddenly felt as though he had been encased in invisible glass, completely unable to move.

Through this invisible restraint, he watched as Thanos roared. The Power Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet lit up with purple light, energy lines running up his arm.

Explosions of force erupted around him. Thanos completely ignored the telekinetic resistance and crossed the distance in just a few strides.

"Die!"

He roared, slamming a fist down with so much power that it split the air with a sonic boom!

Russell knew his telekinesis couldn't tear apart a Titan's body—it was merely a form of resistance.

But he didn't expect Thanos to go so far as to channel Power Stone energy directly into his own body!

Clearly, despite his bravado, Thanos wasn't as confident as he appeared.

The instant execution of Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian had deeply shaken this Mad Titan.

But Russell wasn't reckless either.

Even with the enhancements of Aesir blood, Extremis, and other augmentations, a punch backed by the Power Stone demanded respect.

He crossed his arms and pushed forward—

Golden lines of light formed midair and quickly solidified into a shimmering shield.

The Seraphim Shield!

BOOM!

The spell collapsed immediately—the shield lasted less than a second before disintegrating.

But that was enough!

Russell used telekinesis to propel himself sideways. At the same time, boiling blood surged from his palm, condensing into a molten blade that slashed toward Thanos' neck!

Thor saw it and instinctively knew—he wouldn't have been able to dodge that. He would've had to take it head-on!

But then Thanos twisted his torso with almost inhuman control and dodged the strike. At the same time, he launched a brutal side kick!

BANG!

The kick shattered the alloy wall behind Russell, exposing circuits and spraying sparks everywhere.

But Russell ignored gravity, crouching midair just above the attack's impact zone.

What looked like a close call had been easily avoided thanks to Spider-Sense.

Hovering above, Russell smirked and said:

"Thirty-six seconds left."

As he spoke, a green light flared in his eyes, and the shadow beneath Thanos began to move!

It split into a dozen terrifying black tentacles that surged up and entangled Thanos' legs!

Thor's eyes widened.

Phantom magic!

That was high-level Asgardian sorcery—how could this man use it?

Not only that, the strength and precision with which he cast it far surpassed Loki!

Thanos looked down at the shadows and snorted:

"Petty tricks."

He tensed his legs—and the shadow tentacles shattered, instantly returning to normal shadows.

Russell remained calm.

He grinned, twin flaming blades forming in his hands as he dove toward Thanos.

Thanos sneered:

"A magician dares to fight me in close combat?"

He didn't dodge. The Power Stone flared again as he swung a fist upward!

But in the next instant, his expression froze.

His fist, powerful enough to destroy a starship, passed right through Russell's chest.

The body turned into green light—and vanished.

Then, a cold voice whispered behind him:

"You're right. Why would a magician fight you up close?"

"The shadow manipulation... was just a distraction."

Thanos' eyes widened as he tried to elbow backward—

Too late.

His arm froze mid-swing.

A cold hand had already phased through the back of his head.

If it were Cassandra, she wouldn't be able to do this.

Touching Thanos' body meant direct exposure to the corrosive force of the Power Stone—energy that would spread through her entire body, disabling her instantly.

She could ignore physical damage, but not Power Stone energy.

But Russell was different.

Thanks to his Aesir God bloodline, his body could withstand it.

Ignoring the searing pain, he yanked Thanos' consciousness directly into the spiritual world.

Thor's scalp went numb at the sight.

He couldn't even imagine what it felt like to have a hand shoved into your brain like that.

And then—another shocking sight.

Not even a full second passed in the real world, and Thanos suddenly shut his eyes and collapsed.

Like a puppet with its strings cut.

It reminded Thor of terrifying bedtime stories Frigga once told about necromancers, and now they felt horribly real.

Russell looked down at the lifeless Mad Titan.

He had just killed Thanos in the spiritual realm.

Though Thanos lacked psychic abilities, his willpower had been immense—it had taken real effort to destroy his mind.

But what felt like several minutes in the spiritual realm had passed in less than a second outside.

"Fifteen seconds left."

"You lost, Thanos."

He summoned the Sword of Vishanti and stabbed it through Thanos' skull.

Then, with a snap of web-like energy, he stripped the Infinity Gauntlet from the corpse.

Just then, his senses tingled.

He pulled out the Time Tablet and checked it.

A rapidly spreading red alert appeared.

The timeline was branching. Fast.

Russell frowned.

Was it because he killed Thanos?

Or because he took the Time Stone in this reality?

Either way—now wasn't the time to investigate.

Three seconds later, a prompt appeared confirming the plunder.

Russell opened a space-time portal and stepped through.

Before leaving, he glanced at Thor and said:

"For the sake of the Aesir, I suggest you run."

"Whether you listen or not... that's your choice."

With a flick of his hand, he opened a portal to Kamar-Taj.

Then he stepped through—and vanished.

Thor stood frozen, completely lost.

He had no idea who that man was, or what he was really doing.

Then, something even stranger happened.

The golden portal that had just closed… suddenly turned blue.

A woman stepped through.

Thor's mouth dropped open.

"Wow. That's... a very shiny bald head."

The visitor glanced at the dumbfounded Thor, then at Thanos' corpse.

Her expression darkened.

"This... is a big problem."

The Void

Russell stared at the closed portal, brows furrowed.

Just before he left, he thought he saw it change color... and a bald head appear.

Could it have been... the Ancient One?

But she was supposed to be dead at this point in the timeline.

His original goal was to create problems for the TVA.

Now, though... something strange had clearly occurred.

Still, Russell didn't care.

In fact—he hoped the problem got even worse.

After all, the ones who'd be suffering were the TVA and Kang the Conqueror.

He casually tossed the Infinity Gauntlet aside and turned his attention to the new entry rewards he'd earned.

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