The Holy Son in Marvel

Solomon wore an expression of helplessness, staying motionless because every time he tried to explain himself, the witch greeted him with bullets. Bayonetta, dressed in pajamas, somehow had a handgun in hand, smiling as she fired. The bullet cut through the air, lodging in the wall behind him. "Go find your lady spy," she said. "After all, isn't it a sneaky cat that gets the cream?"

"I promise you, Bayonetta, nothing happened. It's just my mentor's twisted sense of humor," Solomon sighed again. Whenever he tried to ask the Supreme Sorcerer what she'd told Bayonetta, she always changed the subject. Solomon had rushed back to the apartment, trying to soothe Bayonetta, though she hardly needed comforting. She wasn't some delicate flower; she was a woman who communicated with bullets and the heels of her stilettos.

Resigned, Solomon roughly recounted what had happened after emerging from the cave. Before the police arrived, he quickly called Nick Fury to clear the neighbor's report, not wanting to end up at the police station over something so minor. He didn't share the whole story with Fury, merely telling him not to inquire too much, and then hung up, approaching Bayonetta with a forced smile.

Bayonetta seemed to be using Cheshire Cat, her familiar, as an emotional outlet. She whispered to the cat, which bristled, its gray fur puffing up indignantly. Solomon tossed the "cat-backing" familiar aside and sat on the sofa, patiently coaxing the witch at the other end. In truth, Bayonetta wasn't angry because Solomon had been with Natasha; she was mad that he'd gone on such a dangerous mission without her.

"You know, the mortality rate for single men on missions is double that of married men—I read that in a magazine," Bayonetta remarked casually. "Turns out the best method is pairing up a man and a woman, but only if..."

"Wearing matching rings," Solomon nodded in agreement. "A profound truth. By the way, which magazine did you read that in?"

"Oh, some fashion magazine from the '50s or '60s. You know, I've been asleep for 500 years; I haven't had much time for entertainment."

"Did Joan of Arc read those magazines too?"

"Fashion takes time to catch up on."

"Well, dear Bayonetta, I think the only useful advice in fashion magazines is about style, not the relationship columns. Those articles were probably written by single men who know nothing about relationships and just want to see women stuck in the kitchen." Solomon spread his hands, exasperated. "How about a trip to Europe to clear our minds? You've barely gone out since the number of angels dwindled. Staying indoors all the time isn't healthy. We could hire some Scottish Assassins to clean up, and Cheshire Cat could stay with them. That way, we'd have time for an outing. How about Norway? We could see the Northern Lights."

"Is Joan coming with us?" Bayonetta squinted.

"Uh… only if you don't mind."

"Of course, I don't mind, dear," she replied, pulling out her gun. "Why would I mind?"

The travel plans were shelved for the moment. When Joan returned to the apartment, she, too, fired at Solomon for making Bayonetta worry unnecessarily. Joan announced she'd resign tomorrow and take Bayonetta on a Nordic tour. As for transportation, they'd rely on Solomon's portals. She mentioned she'd call him for lunch and dinner, then promptly kicked him out, telling him to come back tomorrow.

It turned out that with two women involved, there was no place for a man. Solomon shrugged and headed back to Kamar-Taj.

He still had classes to attend.

---

"Don't you have enough to deal with in the real world, Nick Fury?" Solomon asked, lounging in the S.H.I.E.L.D. director's office with his legs propped on the desk. "That big green guy is far more interesting than things from 300 years ago."

"Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. only deals with those things?" Fury replied irritably. "We have thousands of agents, and a few missing doesn't account for all our workload. I brought you here to wrap up some matters from before you disappeared."

"The Merlin School?" Solomon suddenly remembered, having almost forgotten about Balthazar and Dave; no one at Kamar-Taj had mentioned them either. Perhaps it was due to his lowered sanity that he'd forgotten, but he was now curious to hear what Fury had to say.

At the mention of "Merlin School," Fury gave nothing away, merely taking note of the term. "I don't know what those dark mages did, and I can't blame every accident in New York on them," he said. "But you need to help me archive. I need to know which innocents were killed by the dark mages."

"Couldn't this be settled with a call? Did you really need to pull me out of school for this?" Solomon sniffed, slightly uncomfortable after last night's frigid Himalayan winds. If it hadn't been for the warmth of Phoenix, he might have caught a cold from the sudden 300-year seasonal change. "None of them want to chat with me," he muttered. "Couldn't you send Coulson? I quite like him."

"He and Agent Romanoff recently carried out a mission known only to me. Afterward, both showed signs of mental disturbance." Fury's single eye stared intently at Solomon. "I want to know the mission details."

"That's your real purpose, isn't it, Cyclops?" Solomon replied. "No, actually... you want to evaluate me, to see if I'm suffering from mental instability."

Fury didn't respond, just stared, confirming that Solomon had guessed correctly. Solomon's danger level had exceeded Fury's expectations. Both agents had shown signs of mental decline after working with him, and as S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Fury had to ensure the safety of others.

"Coulson and Natasha are fine; they'll recover with some rest. And S.H.I.E.L.D.'s continued scrutiny will only worsen their mental state," Solomon mused. "You're not planning to make them disclose information about me, are you?"

"If I knew the mission details, their debriefing could end," Fury blinked. "All S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who went on that mission died of shock, except for one who is missing. I need to know where my agent is, if he's alive or dead."

"I don't know where your other agent is, but as for mission details… no." Solomon refused. "I don't know what Coulson and Natasha told you, but I can say this much: the incident was related to an extra-dimensional invasion. The consequences of worshiping an evil god are never good. I already warned Coulson about this, and he probably told you, though I doubt you'd believe it."

"But," Solomon leaned forward, looking directly into Fury's single eye, "this incident is beyond human comprehension. If anyone recklessly summons an evil god, I'll kill every participant—that's something we're already doing."

Solomon referred to an ongoing Kamar-Taj mission: hunting down an East African cult called the "Blood-Tongue Sect." Until recently, Kamar-Taj had dismissed it as a minor cult worshipping an invented god, but after Solomon had obtained some knowledge from Randolph Carter, Kamar-Taj realized the cult's god was real. Since then, Kaecilius and Mordo had taken a large team of sorcerers to pursue them. Additionally, sorcerers from the New York Sanctum had gone to Canada to track down a cult known as the "Wisdom of the Stars."

These cults all worshiped Nyarlathotep. So far, Solomon hadn't discovered any cults devoted to other Outer Gods, though Kamar-Taj was also tracking groups worshipping Nightmare or the god of dark magic, Chthon. Progress was slow due to the sheer amount of work.

Solomon took his responsibilities seriously, intending to eradicate all Earth cults worshipping Outer Gods and burn all books capable of summoning such beings. The Supreme Sorcerer and Solomon had carefully sorted through the texts he'd brought back, erasing all magical content. Then, she placed the books on Kamar-Taj's shelves, magically sealing them. Anyone wanting to access them would need her approval and supervision. These texts were even more dangerous than Dormammu or the Dark Dimension, and few besides the Supreme Sorcerer and Solomon knew their contents.

"Alright," Fury finally relented, seeming to accept Solomon's response. "But at least help me with the documentation. I want to make sure we've captured that damned dark mage."

"I hope so too."

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