Just as Peter and the others were learning about the Cosmic Cube from Mar-Vell, in the sky above, Thor and Adam Warlock began their pursuit of Korvac.
"We cannot allow Korvac to act freely. He doesn't know how to control his power, and if we let him run rampant, the Earth will be destroyed."
Flying at high altitude, Thor heard these words and immediately accelerated, charging in front of Korvac. As he flew, he warned the other man: "Korvac, we are not your enemies, nor will we hand you over to the so-called Kang the Conqueror. Stop now; the Avengers will help you."
"Help? Where is your help?"
Korvac just screamed and flew erratically, though he didn't actively attack Thor. Thor frowned and simply hugged Korvac tightly. In his panic, Korvac radiated a terrifying blue energy, and Adam Warlock watched in shock as Korvac violently exploded in mid-air.
When the flash of the explosion subsided, an unharmed Thor was holding Korvac, calming him with righteous words: "The Avengers are not your enemies, Korvac. You came to the Avengers for help, and I am an Avenger. I am here."
Adam Warlock looked at Korvac, who slowly calmed down amid his rapid breathing, then looked at Thor with incredulity. He flew to his side: "I have never seen a life form as powerful as you. Korvac unleashed such tremendous energy just now, yet you are completely unscathed."
"The vitality of Asgardians is beyond the imagination of common lifeforms, but even so, I am not unbeatable."
Since Korvac had generally calmed down, he seemed to have lost his ability to fly. Thor grabbed him by the back of his collar like a small chicken and flew toward Puerto Rico. However, during the flight, Korvac suddenly began to cry out again.
"Kang is coming!"
That elusive Kang the Conqueror? He was back?
Before Thor and Adam Warlock could react, time was paused once more. Kang the Conqueror sat on his flying throne, taking aim at Korvac from a distance. This time, no one could stop Kang. If he could only splinter Korvac into countless fragments and toss him into the chaotic time stream, he would no longer be a threat and could not interfere with Kang's empire.
So, he pulled the trigger of the Time Weapon in his hand. A green energy beam shot toward Korvac. But this time, just like the last, the instant before Korvac was hit, his scream broke the solidified time. Kang's face darkened as he watched Korvac tumble out of mid-air, dodging the shot.
Thor narrowly avoided the time ray and swooped down to pull Korvac up again, while looking towards Kang: "Kang the Conqueror, whatever your goal, you are placing this planet in extreme danger. You must cease threatening this world."
"I have already told you. The man you hold poses a threat far exceeding your expectations. He is a terrifying entity that will destroy the entire existing structure of the real universe."
Kang immediately began speaking in complex terms—what with the Multiverse, the structure of reality, and other confusing things—leaving everyone baffled. But more importantly, they hadn't witnessed any threat from Korvac.
On the contrary, the one who consistently posed a threat was Kang the Conqueror. His repeated threats toward Korvac were the very thing causing the living bomb to become emotionally unstable.
However, Kang wasn't truly concerned about any of them. For Kang, he and his empire were essentially detached from the general timeline. Even if he blew up the 21st-century Earth, it wouldn't stop him from ruling the 31st-century Earth. The Time Gem granted him and his empire the power to exist beyond the timeline. If it weren't for the Multiverse Collision Crisis starting in the year 2015, which would lead to the complete destruction of the entire universe, he wouldn't bother with any of this.
Even if he blew up 21st-century Earth, he had to ensure he could change the history of the Multiverse Collision Crisis to protect his own empire.
"Stop, Kang. Your current actions will only cause greater destruction. You cannot jump to conclusions about something that hasn't happened yet," Adam Warlock shielded Korvac. "Can you absolutely confirm that Korvac is the one causing the crisis?"
"The energy readings are identical to the energy levels on him; there's no doubt he is responsible."
Although the entire 2015 timeline was inaccessible, preventing Kang from having concrete evidence that Korvac was the culprit, various circumstantial pieces of evidence pointed to him. Unfortunately, Korvac possessed the power to break through time's constraints. With him present, Kang couldn't resolve the issue.
And so, Kang simply vanished, leaving behind a solemn Thor and a frustrated Adam Warlock.
"He wouldn't even negotiate," Adam sighed helplessly, feeling quite exasperated by Kang the Conqueror's behavior. But since they couldn't catch him, they had no choice but to return to Puerto Rico to deal with the immediate problem.
While Thor and the others were intercepting Korvac, Peter had already called for new external help. Not the Avengers—the Avengers, while capable of dealing with the Cosmic Cube and Kang the Conqueror, weren't enough. Facing a 31st-century cosmic entity and 31st-century divine artifacts, they needed other cosmic entities to handle the situation.
By the time Thor and Adam Warlock returned, the Fantastic Four'sSupersonic Airship had already arrived at Puerto Rico. They descended slowly alongside Thor.
"Is this the reinforcement you called? Mister Fantastic Reed Richards?"
Gwen looked at the descending airship and asked curiously, "Can he handle 31st-century technology?"
"I don't know, but if the smartest man in the world can't solve this problem, then no one else can."
Carole, who was watching Gwen and Peter chat, glanced at Cindy, whose lower face was covered, and a daring idea formed in her mind: "I saw that girl on the bus; she's one of the students visiting. Do you think Spider-Man might also be a high school student?"
"A high school student... so what?" Mar-Vell, who was asked the question, looked at Carole confusedly, then seemed to understand something. "Wait, you're not planning to investigate Spider-Man's true identity, are you? How would that help?"
"I just... can't believe we might be relying on high school students to save the world."
Note: In the comics, Kang usually rules the 40th century, but the century was changed to the 31st century here, along with Korvac, to narrow the technology gap and unify some non-essential settings.
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