"Why did you have to chase after her? Wouldn't it have been fine to just let her go?"
Gwen really couldn't understand what Wanda was thinking.
"Maybe Wanda thought letting her go would be too dangerous. That woman didn't exactly look like a good person."
It was practically written all over her face: I'm the villain.
How amusing.
"She looked decent enough, polite and refined. How could she be bad?" Gwen muttered to herself, not even expecting Lorien to answer. A second later, she added, "Guess you really can't judge people by appearances."
Seeing Gwen like this, Lorien couldn't help but laugh. He pulled her into his arms.
"Alright, leave it to Wanda. Early to bed, early to rise—we've got work tomorrow."
Gwen pouted, still unable to wrap her head around Lorien's obsession with showing up to work on time and clocking out on time.
He was already so powerful, he didn't need to do anything. Money wasn't an issue either.
And they weren't even in the same world anymore.
Even so, instead of arguing, Gwen kissed him on the cheek and yawned. "Fine, let's just get back to sleep."
With that, the two of them lay back down and soon drifted off.
...
Early the next morning, they stepped into the living room and saw Wanda sitting across from the woman who'd tried to ambush them the night before.
The woman was tightly bound, and Wanda sat casually, one leg crossed over the other.
When Gwen and Lorien walked in, Wanda greeted them. "Morning. I made breakfast—it's on the table. Go ahead and eat."
"When did you get back?" Gwen asked curiously.
Wanda glanced at the clock. "Less than half an hour ago. She's slippery, though—really knows how to run."
"And her identity? Did you find out anything?"
"Her mouth's sealed shut. Won't say a word."
Wanda sounded irritated. But faced with someone clearly weaker than her—and badly injured at that—she hadn't had the heart to kill her outright. So, she'd brought her back instead.
Lorien, meanwhile, was studying the woman from a distance. He already had a strong guess about who she was.
"You're Faora, aren't you?"
Maybe the translation wasn't exact, but the moment he tried the name, her face gave her away.
Faora's eyes flew wide, disbelief written across them.
"How do you know my name?"
That alone was enough of a confession. Lorien had only been guessing.
"Of course I know."
Wanda shifted aside, and Lorien sank lazily into the seat across from her.
"Your superior is General Zod, right? You're aliens."
Faora's face twisted, not only in disbelief but also in fear.
Lorien only smiled, unbothered by her glare, and continued, "I also know you're searching for something important. A child, perhaps? Or maybe something that child carries?"
"Who are you? How do you know this?"
If not for the restraints, Faora would have lunged at him already.
She could break free easily, but she didn't. That savage woman was no simple opponent. And the man and the other woman who could look at her so calmly were clearly not ordinary either.
Three against one, in her weakened state, without her combat suit—she stood no chance.
Without it, she felt as if she were walking around naked.
…
Faora was even more striking than in the movies, her eyes carrying an uncommon resilience.
"If I were you, in this situation, I'd admit defeat instead of glaring at me like that."
Lorien reached out, pinching her chin lightly. "Because I like those eyes. When you look at me that way, it's hard not to feel something."
His sudden shift in tone left every woman in the room stunned.
Faora's eyes widened in disbelief.
Had she just been… flirted with?
She was General Zod's deputy commander. No one had ever dared to flirt with her!
Yet the impossible had just happened.
And stranger still, as she met his gaze, an unsettling feeling stirred inside her. Panic fluttered in her chest. She forcefully shoved his hand away.
"Some people aren't yours to tease. I'll kill you, you understand?"
"I know. Then come kill me."
Lorien said it lightly, almost playfully, with only the faintest trace of genuine interest—hardly enough to matter.
He raised his wrist to check the time.
"It's Friday. I've got work. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Don't worry, Lorien."
Wanda answered with unusual seriousness, then let out a cold hum as she glanced at the bound Faora.
If this woman could stir Lorien's interest so soon after arriving in this world, then she clearly deserved to be tested.
Faora shivered under Wanda's sharp gaze.
Where had these people come from?
She wanted nothing more than to avoid making enemies of them.
"I'll apologize for trying to go against you."
To fulfill General Zod's mission, she had to bow her head, no matter how bitter it felt.
"Do you think we're obliged to accept an apology?" Wanda's lips curved into a smile. "You owe us a life. If we hadn't pulled you back, you'd be rotting on that lawn right now."
As if she'd have died so easily. Did they really underestimate her self-healing that much?
Faora wanted to snap back at them.
But Wanda cut her off as though reading her mind. "Doesn't matter. The fact is, we saved you. The fact is, you tried to kill us. Nothing will change that, so don't bother arguing."
As she spoke, Wanda lifted another prepared breakfast, skewered a sandwich with a fork, and held it up to Faora's lips.
"Before we deal with you, eat something."