Hela writhed helplessly against the glowing chains pinning her to the table. Each link wasn't just space itself woven into matter it was layered with an alien resonance that muted her divine essence.
Even her death-magic, once enough to topple armies, sputtered out like a candle smothered by wind.
"Relax," Nolan said, stepping into the sterile chamber. "I'm not going to kill you. Not yet."
The Goddess of Death spat curses, her voice breaking with fury at the indignity. Once feared across nine realms, she now lay bound like a specimen on a dissection slab.
Nearby, the great wolf Fenrir thrashed inside an energy cage, its howls echoing through the reinforced halls.
Dr. Connors, Strange, and Dr. Gordon stood ready. Vibranium scalpels gleamed under surgical lights. Strange muttered dryly, "Feels like my first anatomy lab… except this time, the cadaver is alive and divine."
"Get used to it," Connors replied. "Gods are just another research subject."
At Nolan's gesture, the restraints dissolved Hela's enchanted armor into fragments. She glared at him, teeth bared. "You dare humiliate me ? When I break free, I will flay the flesh from your bones!"
"Seal her mouth," Nolan ordered. A vibranium mask clamped shut the threats.
The first incision was traced across her skin. Black ichor sparked with runes before subsiding. Monitors lit up.
"Bone density: three hundred times baseline human."
"Cellular nuclei non-spherical, faceted. Internal stable isotopes resembling heavy-metal variants."
"Magical factor detected. Cells self-organize into micro-runes, mimicking mithril conduits."
Data streamed across holographic displays.
Nolan's eyes narrowed, calculations racing. So that's it. Their strength isn't arbitrary it's structural. A genetic architecture designed to absorb ambient radiation, rewrite metabolism, and etch magic into living matter.
He remembered the Hulk cadavers, Abomination samples, the gamma-twisted isotopes he'd catalogued. Similar principles—different execution.
"If Asgardians can be engineered," he murmured, "then Midgardians can be upgraded."
Strange paused mid-note. "You're thinking of… mass enhancement?"
Nolan nodded. "If Earth must stand against cosmic empires, it cannot rely on a handful of heroes. Every citizen of Midgard must be strong enough to survive."
The words hung heavy. Connor scribbled excitedly; Strange exhaled like a man who saw the future veering off its rails.
Alarms pinged. Gordon pointed at the holodisplay. "High-energy anomaly originating in her thoracic cavity." Follow current novels on noⅴelfire.net
Nolan stepped closer. With surgical precision, the team exposed her heart. It pulsed with otherworldly rhythm, each beat etching spectral patterns into the air.
Runes. Norse glyphs woven directly into the muscle fibers, glowing faintly with the power of Yggdrasil.
"Asgard's dimensional core… embedded inside her," Nolan whispered. "Half tethered to flesh, half to the realm. Odin must have bound her this way."
He traced the flickering inscriptions. "Every contraction channels the realm's magic. Every rune is a lock… and a key."
For the first time, even Nolan's voice carried a note of awe. "With this… I can map how gods are born."
Hela's muffled scream shook the chamber, fury and shame blazing in her eyes. But Nolan only adjusted his instruments, calm as ever.
"I told you," he said softly. "I won't kill you. I just want to understand."
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!