LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 47: Meaning of the Symbols
Chapter 47: Meaning of the Symbols
“Sebastian Derik. Seems you’ve been quite busy.”
Coulson’s voice rang out from behind Benjamin who had Sebastian pinned to the wall while still in his Ghost Rider form.
Skye and the others appeared from behind as well and looked curiously at the flaming skull.
Jemma approached him curiously to take a closer look.
“How is this even possible? Are you really still alive? Does it not hurt? It’s quite fascinating.”
“Fascinating? Spooky more like it.”
Fitz felt uncomfortable seeing a talking skull on flames and couldn’t help but shiver.
Benjamin let out a chuckle but with his current form, it just sent shivers to Fitz even more.
He soon powered down but still had Sebastian pinned to the wall.
“Coulson…what is this?”
Sebastian was also freaked out by the flaming skull earlier and couldn’t help but ask.
“Benjamin Freed. Currently assisting SHIELD. Nice to meet you. You’re under arrest for the murder of Janice Robbins and three others.”
Sebastian was surprised. He certainly didn’t think that SHIELD would work with the EPD.
“Why’d you do it, Sebastian? They were all SHIELD agents. Just like you.”
Coulson asked.
“...They needed to be reminded, Coulson…”
“Reminded? Reminded of what?”
“At first, I carved on walls and floors….but it wasn’t enough. I started to carve it on my body…the pain helped me remember.”
Sebastian explained with a crazed expression.
“I tried looking for the others. But they couldn’t remember. So I helped them!”
“...You started carving on their bodies as well…”
“YES! I NEED TO KNOW, COULSON! I NEED TO KNOW!!!”
Sebastian tried to break free but Benjamin wouldn’t let him.
“I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THESE SYMBOLS MEAN!!!”
Figuring that it was enough, Benjamin took out the Clarity Bell and rang it once.
The crazed expression on Sebastian's face slowly receded and a trace of clarity appeared in his eyes.
“I…what have I done…”
Benjamin sighed and handed the now calmed-down Sebastian to the police officers.
“Lock him up.”
As they take Sebastian into custody, Skye looked at the bell and asked Benjamin.
“What’s this bell? He actually calmed down so fast.”
“It’s a…magical bell. Removes any brainwashing or negative effects in the mind. It’s quite useful. Of course, it doesn’t really turn bad guys into good so doesn’t expect it to be of use to every bad guy. Sebastian just now was most likely affected by the alien DNA from the GH formula and the bell helped him regain clarity.”
Hearing that, Coulson also looked interested.
“You don’t have any more of those lying around by any chance, do you?”
“Did you want one?”
“...You really have more?”
Coulson was speechless. He was just half-joking when he asked but he didn’t expect that Benjamin would really have one.
Benjamin tossed the bell to him without hesitation. Anyway, he can just buy another if he really needed it again in the future.
Besides, he knew he could trust Coulson with it. It’s another story if it was Fury though.
“...Thanks.”
“Can I get one too?”
Jake suddenly asked. To which, Benjamin immediately declined.
“No.”
“Why!?”
“Knowing you, you’ll probably run around ringing it on the streets like an ice cream vendor.”
“Dammit!”
Jake clicked his tongue.
This guy knows me too well!
“Alright, go and return to your work. You’re no longer needed.”
“You’re so cruel!”
Jake shook his head and left.
At this moment, Coulson’s phone rang.
Coulson took it out and saw that Agent May had called.
“Agent May. What’s the situation on your side?”
“There’s something you need to see.”
As for what that something is, May didn’t say.
Benjamin opened up a portal again and everyone went through without a problem.
Fitz-Simmons still looked at the portal in fascination so he had to pull them inside quickly or else they’ll keep trying to inspect it for hours.
They met up with May, Bobbi, Mack, and Trip and were led to a warehouse at the side of a house.
Hank Thompson, the remaining TAHITI patient, was looking at them curiously but didn’t approach them as he didn’t want to have anything to do with any of them any more than he already had.
May led the group to the second floor of the warehouse which overlooked the first floor that had a toy train track system that, when looked at from above, resembled the symbols that they had all been seeing.
“...It’s a map. A three-dimensional one.”
Coulson muttered.
Everyone looked amazed at the intricate design while Fitz scanned the whole thing so they can run a search using their satellites.
At the same time, in an unknown HYDRA base.
A German man with white hair and round glasses sat on his chair with both elbows leaning on his desk.
On the desk was a familiar object…the Obelisk!
Surprisingly, it was actually another Obelisk and not the one SHIELD had!
The man looked at the Obelisk and wanted to touch it but knew how fearsome it is so he could only hold himself back.
This man was none other than Daniel Whitehall.
Whitehall looked up to look at the man responsible for giving him the Obelisk.
It was a man with messy hair and a somewhat unkempt appearance. Beside him was an African American woman with black curly hair who wore a flowery dress.
“For you to bring this to me…what exactly did you want to achieve here?”
Whitehall asked with a small smile on his face.
The man’s face twitched as he answered with a smile of his own that looked a bit forced.
“I want something from SHIELD. And you’ll help me get it.”
“And what makes you so sure that I’ll agree to your demands?”
“Because…I know more about the Diviner than you could possibly know.”
Whitehall raised an eyebrow at that.
It is true that they knew too little of the Obelisk.
Plus…that man called it the Diviner instead. Why was that?
Well…there’s no harm to this deal. He also wanted to hit SHIELD back. Maybe he can make use of that bitch Viper’s faction as well.
To think that Strucker’s lab rat is now calling herself Madame Hydra. How ridiculous!
There was no way he would agree to it!
But it is true that she had already amassed a lot of their forces. He needed to do something to prove his worth.
Hitting SHIELD may be just what he needed.
And if he can use this chance to also know more about this…Diviner…and turn it into a weapon of mass destruction…then all the more sure he would be to become the next true head of HYDRA!
Whitehall smiled and turned to the woman.
“And who is she?”
“Her name’s Raina. And she’s the key to unlocking the Diviner’s secrets.”
The man grinned and nodded at Raina.
Raina smiled and walked up to the desk.
The HYDRA agents behind Whitehall hurriedly placed their hands on their weapons but Whitehall raised a hand to stop them.
He wanted to see what this Raina woman will do.
Raina continued to smile and reached out her hand to grab the Diviner.
As she held it in her hands, the Diviner glowed and showed patterns on it.
“Fascinating…you’re one of them.”
Whitehall looked at Raina in amazement.
He had long known that there were a select few who remained unaffected when in contact with the Obelisk but he had yet to figure out what makes them so different.
The man spoke up again.
“Those pattern indicates a map of an ancient Kree temple. A three-dimensional map. I’m sure that with your HYDRA resources, you’ll be able to find it immediately.”
He held out his hand to Whitehall.
“What do you say? We have a deal?”
“...Very well.”
Whitehall smiled and shook his hand.
In his mind, he sneered.
Only until you’re useful…
The man also had other thoughts in his mind as he shook Whitehall’s hand.
After you’ve lived your purpose…I’ll kill you with my very own hands! I’ll never forgive you for what you did to my wife, Whitehall!
Many years ago, Whitehall had found his wife and dissected her alive. By the time he found her, she was already cut into pieces.
From that moment on, he swore that he will return this grudge a thousandfold!
But not yet…he still needs Whitehall…
He still needs to reunite with his baby daughter, Daisy!
But Daisy was still in SHIELD.
He can’t forgive SHIELD for turning his baby daughter into an agent! Especially Phil Coulson!
“So what do I call you?”
Whitehall asked the man. To which the man smiled slightly.
“You can call me Cal.”
Back to Benjamin and the others.
While everyone waited for the results of the scan from the satellite, they all did their own thing on the Bus.
Skye and May laid out a mat on the cargo bay and started to spar.
Benjamin watched the two out of curiosity and boredom.
At this moment, Bobbi also appeared beside him and nodded at him.
“Interested? Wanna have a go too? But no powers.”
“Haha. Sure, why not?”
Benjamin chuckled and the two of them walked to the mat.
Skye and May were also intrigued and made way for them.
Benjamin removed the jacket he wore and rolled up his sleeves while Bobbi wore a blue tank top and black pants.
That tank top was quite dangerous to look at with her bust size but Benjamin did his best not to focus on it too much.
Benjamin smiled and beckoned Bobbi with his fingers.
Bobbi chuckled and sprang forward, extending her fist towards his face which Benjamin dodged with ease.
However, Bobbi expected him to dodge it and her body rotated into a kick at the side.
Benjamin blocked it with one hand and sent a jab with his other hand onto Bobbi’s side.
Bobbi rotated again and this time performed a jumping spinning kick.
Benjamin blocked the kick but it was followed by another kick which hit his stomach.
Well, this much force wasn’t really any painful but Benjamin still took a step back as he was trying to level himself to a regular human.
After taking a step back, Benjamin started his own counter-attack with a series of punches which Bobbi either dodged or blocked but she still took several steps back from it.
The two of them continued to exchange this sort of dance as they sparred until Bobbi decided to grab his arm and toss him to the ground.
Benjamin let himself get tossed but did a flip at the end and returned the favor by tossing her to the ground.
Bobbi didn’t expect it and landed on her back on the mat.
Benjamin pressed her down and chuckled.
“Guess it’s my win.”
“You got me.”
Bobbi smiled and sighed in defeat.
“So how long are you gonna push me down?”
Bobbi asked with a teasing tone.
Benjamin looked down and saw that his arm was pressing on her breast.
He coughed and stood up immediately.
“Ahem. Good spar. I’ll go check on the others…”
Benjamin quickly escaped but the three women watching all saw a slight bulge in his pants.
It was only for a second since Benjamin quickly calmed himself down but they still saw it.
It was especially for Bobbi who was pinned down earlier as she felt it with her knee from when she was pinned down.
The three women all smirked at each other knowingly and laughed.
Benjamin, on the other hand, went and checked in on Fitz-Simmons in their lab.
They were still waiting on the scan but were also tinkering with other small gadgets.
Benjamin joined them and even added his own input which amazed the two as they didn’t expect him to also have such knowledge.
After some time, the results finally came in.
[Puerto Rico]
An image of an underground city underneath Puerto Rico was displayed on the monitor.
Skye then continued to explain.
"Possible entry points for the city, but most of them are under the ocean floor. Except for one. Here in old San Juan, where we'll enter the underground city."
The entry point was highlighted in the image as she explained.
“I’ll talk to the EPD branch there and have them cooperate.”
“Good. Fitz-Simmons, get a drone down there to scout first for any danger. Mack, you’re with them. Bobbi and Trip. You two patrol and secure the area. The rest is on standby until we’ve seen what’s inside that city.”
“Understood.”
Everyone nodded at Coulson’s orders.
Benjamin went to the side and called Ophelia.
“Any news on your side?”
“Ben, I was about to call you. My informant inside Whitehall’s faction just returned with news. They have the Obelisk. It seems some guy handed it to him. There was a woman named Raina too if that means something to you. They’re also on the more right now to San Juan where they believe the secret of the Obelisk is hidden. Oh, and they seem to be planning to attack SHIELD soon.”
“Huh. That’s interesting.”
Benjamin raised a brow after hearing her report.
It seems that a lot is really different from the TV series in his previous world.
That man who handed the Obelisk to Whitehall was most likely Skye’s father since Raina is there. And to think that he actually had one of the Diviners too…
Since that man knows a lot about the Diviner and Inhumans, he was probably the one that led them to San Juan too.
“I understand. Thanks a lot, Ophelia. Is there anything you want?”
“You know what I want.”
Ophelia chuckled.
Benjamin smiled wryly and nodded.
“Alright, alright. I’ll see you once this is dealt with.”
“You better.”
Benjamin chuckled and ended the call.
He turned to Coulson and relayed the news.
“I got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Bad news.”
Coulson answered.
“Well, HYDRA seems to know about the underground city and is also heading to San Juan right now. Daniel Whitehall is also coming here.”
Everyone was surprised.
Skye then asked.
“What’s the good news then?”
“Good news is Whitehall is coming so now’s the chance to bag him and the rest of his group.”
“...”
Aren’t both of those the same thing!?
Benjamin laughed.
Fitz found the situation weird and asked.
“How did they even find the city?”
“Well, this Obelisk isn’t the only one in the world, there are others. And someone handed them one.”
Coulson frowned and changed his orders.
“May, you’re with Bobbi and Trip. Scout the area and look for any HYDRA agents. Skye, you’re with Fitz-Simmons. You and Mack will guard the two of them while they scout out the city with the drone.”
“Understood.”
Skye and May nodded.
Benjamin also spoke.
“I’ll have the EPD remain on high alert and look for HYDRA as well. There are a few mutants in San Juan I believe and they can also help with the fight.”
“That’s good. We’ll take any help we can get.”
Coulson nodded.
Benjamin chuckled and added.
“Though frankly, I should be enough.”
“...”
Coulson couldn’t retort as he knew he was right…