Chapter 140: The Coffee Is Still Hot
A faint humming sound echoed through the battlefield.
At first, it seemed insignificant.
Then everyone noticed it.
Captain America felt his vibranium shield vibrate lightly against his arm.
Tony Stark's damaged armor suddenly displayed multiple warning notifications.
Several diagnostic windows appeared across his HUD simultaneously.
"What now?"
Tony muttered.
Nearby, Thor frowned slightly.
Mjolnir remained unaffected.
But the metal buckle securing part of his armor loosened unexpectedly.
A subtle reaction.
Yet unmistakable.
The source wasn't an attack.
It wasn't even a threat.
Just a tiny electromagnetic pulse.
A warning.
A demonstration.
Nothing more.
Lynn lowered his hand.
"I don't mind showing you how bad an idea that would be."
Golden sparks erupted behind him.
A circle appeared.
Expanded.
Stabilized.
A portal.
Unlike previous portals, this one revealed nothing beyond its surface.
Only darkness.
Absolute darkness.
No landmarks.
No visible horizon.
No clues.
Lynn had intentionally selected a destination lacking identifiable reference points.
Nobody would determine where he was going.
Superman immediately stepped forward.
"Wait."
Too late.
Lynn stepped through.
The portal collapsed instantly.
Golden sparks scattered across the air before fading completely.
Silence.
The battlefield suddenly felt much larger.
And far more confusing.
"He's gone."
Steve Rogers broke the silence first.
Tony lowered his faceplate.
"Excellent observation, Captain."
Across the communication network, Nick Fury finally spoke.
"Can somebody tell me what that thing was?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Meanwhile—
Thirty meters beneath the ruins of Metropolis.
Inside a natural cavern.
Lynn stepped out of the portal.
He remained there for less than ten seconds.
His body immediately began changing.
The enhanced combat form receded.
Height reduced from nearly 195 centimeters back to approximately 183.
Muscle density normalized.
Mass dropped dramatically.
Facial structure shifted.
Features softened.
The intimidating warrior vanished.
Doctor Lynn returned.
The black combat suit disappeared into a prepared sealed container.
The white mask followed.
A white coat emerged from storage.
Then came the familiar gold-rimmed glasses.
Lynn adjusted them carefully.
"Perfect."
A second portal opened.
Destination:
The Stark medical pod positioned roughly five kilometers from the primary battlefield.
Golden sparks swirled.
Lynn stepped through.
The interior remained intact.
As expected.
He had deliberately positioned the medical pod near the outer edge of the World Engine's effective range.
Approximately three times standard gravity.
Severe.
But survivable for the reinforced structure.
Lynn walked directly to the coffee machine.
Priorities mattered.
The machine activated with a familiar hum.
Coffee began brewing.
While waiting, he removed the cryogenic storage container.
The samples remained secure.
Fiora's blood.
General Zod's blood.
Both represented extraordinary research material.
Not for further strengthening his Kryptonian physiology.
That process was already complete.
The Immortal Divine Body had successfully integrated a perfect Kryptonian template.
There was nothing left to supplement.
Instead, the samples held scientific value.
Research value.
Development value.
Potential future applications.
The storage container disappeared into a secure compartment.
At that exact moment, the coffee finished brewing.
Lynn poured a cup.
Took a sip.
Nodded.
Perfect temperature.
Then he sat beside the control console and activated the external monitoring network.
The screens displayed Metropolis.
Chaos.
Rescue operations.
Emergency response teams.
Heroes working across the city.
Superman lifted collapsed structures while searching for survivors.
Captain America coordinated military recovery units.
Thor had vanished from immediate observation.
Likely handling another crisis elsewhere.
The mysterious masked warrior remained missing.
Communication channels were in complete disorder.
The Avengers.
The Justice League.
SHIELD.
Government agencies.
Everyone discussed the same topic.
Who was the masked man?
Where did he come from?
How strong was he?
Would he return?
Nobody discussed Doctor Lynn.
Lynn smiled faintly.
That was the entire purpose of a dual identity.
While the world obsessed over the mysterious warrior, nobody noticed a doctor sitting quietly inside a medical pod drinking coffee.
He took another sip.
Forty minutes later—
Three knocks sounded against the outer hull.
Not pounding.
Not forceful.
Three polite knocks.
Lynn checked the monitor.
Two visitors.
Nick Fury.
And Bruce Wayne.
Lynn stood.
Opened the door.
The moment Fury saw him, his eye immediately began evaluating details.
White coat.
Gold-rimmed glasses.
Coffee cup.
Relaxed posture.
Calm smile.
"Good afternoon."
Lynn stepped aside politely.
"Has the fighting ended already?"
Fury didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he inspected the interior.
Clean.
Organized.
Every system remained in standby mode.
No signs of combat.
No visible anomalies.
"You've been here the whole time?"
Fury finally asked.
"Of course."
Lynn sipped his coffee.
"The gravity outside was terrifying."
"I'm a doctor."
"Where exactly would I go?"
Fury's eye twitched.
"You're not an ordinary doctor."
"Of course I am."
Five seconds passed.
Fury kept staring.
Heart rate normal.
Breathing normal.
Body language relaxed.
No obvious indicators of deception.
If Lynn was lying, his control exceeded anything Fury had ever encountered.
Bruce walked inside.
Silently.
His attention never settled on Lynn's face.
Instead, he examined the room itself.
The floor.
The walls.
The equipment.
The control console.
Everything.
Lynn noticed.
Naturally.
The floor remained spotless.
The first thing he had done after returning was sanitize the area around the portal arrival point.
Not because portals left evidence.
They didn't.
It was simply habit.
Bruce eventually stopped beside the control panel.
His gaze settled briefly on the coffee cup.
Steam continued rising from its surface.
Interesting.
If Lynn had started brewing immediately after the battle ended, the cooling profile should have looked slightly different.
The observation registered.
Bruce said nothing.
Because he also understood something else.
Any conclusion could be explained away.
Reheated coffee.
Fresh refill.
A second cup.
Any number of possibilities.
Evidence mattered.
Speculation didn't.
Bruce sat down.
Finally looking directly at Lynn.
"You know what's happening outside?"
His voice remained calm.
Measured.
Careful.
The interrogation had begun.
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