"Do not ask! Do not ask! Do not ask!"
Malrick had just arrived at the Central Palace of Battleworld.
He saw Doctor Doom losing his temper at Doctor Strange. The Divine Lord, wearing his iron mask, did not notice Malrick above the palace. He was so agitated that he slammed the armrest of his throne.
"Strange, remember my orders: do not get involved with Malrick or his group. Regardless of what they have done or why the Multiverse's destruction is accelerating, ignore it, and do not ask.
Or rather, if they are truly the ones pushing the Multiverse toward accelerated collapse, it serves our interests even better.
Do not come into conflict with them for the time being. Your mission is to assist me in managing Battleworld and to prevent the universes where the X-Men exist from being absorbed into Superman's side. This is vital for our construction of Battleworld!"
The Doctor Strange of the Main Universe (Movie canon) bowed respectfully below Doom, performing a salute, then began reporting on the situation in Battleworld.
Malrick observed quietly from above for several minutes before turning to leave. He had come to Battleworld specifically to investigate the situation Jarvis had mentioned. Clearly, even Doom's side did not know why the Multiverse's destruction had suddenly accelerated.
"Still, I should probably keep an eye on the X‑Men universes Doom mentioned. According to Shen Loki, Battleworld will serve as the foundation to reboot a brand-new timeline. Doom and his people clearly need the Mutant World, but I cannot ignore the God-Kingdom Universe either. I can also try to save more of the Mutant World."
Currently, most of the worlds merged into the God-Kingdom Universe were branches of the sacred timeline. The Mutant World, a separate timeline, had only a few worlds integrated, and they seemed to be quietly intercepted by Battleworld's forces.
"That fellow Doom…" Malrick shook his head and crossed the void between universes at extreme speed.
Suddenly, a message came from Jarvis: "Young Master, the cause of the accelerated collapse of the Multiverse has been found."
Malrick came to an abrupt stop. How had Jarvis solved this so quickly?
…Returning to the TVA, Malrick understood. It was not that Jarvis had worked fast — the culprits had walked right into the trap.
Jarvis and Black Strange stood side by side before four people restrained by Temporal Devices. Seeing Malrick enter, they stepped aside.
"Young Master, I apologize; I misunderstood Mr. Doom of Battleworld. In fact, these individuals are the source of the accelerated destruction," Jarvis said with polished formality.
"They call themselves the Multiverse Guardians. Mr. Strange (Black Strange) used to be a member of this team."
Black Strange's face twitched. His body tensed, a clear urge to bolt toward the exit. Dark history, pure dark history — Jarvis had maliciously pointed it out. He maintained a stiff face, eyes downcast, saying nothing to minimize his presence.
"Multiverse Guardians?" Malrick arched a brow. He glanced over, and indeed, there was a familiar face among them.
Of the four bound to chairs, the one exuding the most authority was Captain Carter. However, she was not the Earth-838 Carter from Doctor Strange 2. This was the Carter from What If…?. Malrick had encountered her before when defeating Infinite Ultron, a "helper" recruited by Observer Frog Tu.
Looking at the other three, Malrick did not recognize them.
"Carter, we meet again. As for the others, please introduce yourselves," Malrick said, nodding politely.
Carter's eyes lit up. "Malrick, you're Malrick, right? Frog Tu mentioned you. He might be in danger right now. Malrick, we need your and Strange's help!"
"Frog Tu?" Malrick had not expected the Observer's name. Trouble for an Observer usually signals a major event. He took the matter seriously.
"Take your time. Introduce yourselves first," Malrick said, sitting opposite the four.
"We…" Carter hesitated, brow furrowed. Malrick's calm demeanor offered no promise of release, so she proceeded.
"To my left is Storm, who is also Thor."
Malrick observed the white-haired, dark-skinned woman — a Storm who had wielded Mjolnir, a tremendous increase in power.
"The two to my right are Kahhori and Porty Duck."
Now Malrick remembered. Kahhori, from the second season of What If…?, was a Native American imbued with part of the Space Stone's power when her home was invaded. She and Carter had saved the Multiverse from Black Strange.
"Porty Duck…?" Malrick asked, puzzled.
"I'm a super-genius girl known across the Multiverse," Porty Duck said indignantly. "Don't know me? Then you should know my parents: my father is Howard the Duck, my mother is Darcy Louise."
Howard the Duck, once a Collector's item, later traveled with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Darcy Louise was Thor's girlfriend's assistant. Malrick remembered them instantly.
Still, a human and a duck together, with a daughter? Malrick's superbrain stalled. He scrutinized Porty Duck — an orange-haired girl with feather-like patterns on her arms.
"Why are you staring like that? You… don't have any bad ideas, do you?" she asked, shrinking back.
Malrick withdrew his gaze silently. He dismissed the mental image of a human-duck hybrid and focused on Jarvis.
"So, what exactly did these four do to interfere with the Multiverse?"
Jarvis's eyes glowed faintly blue-white, projecting images before the group — clips with varying backgrounds.
"Half an hour ago, they piloted a spaceship through space, appearing outside the God-Kingdom Universe, crashing into the Universe's barrier. Dormammu stopped them and handed them over to the TVA via Mr. Strange."
Not surprising — the various hell and dimension lords had become gatekeeping generals of the God-Kingdom Universe. They organized incoming universes and routinely cleared invaders.
Jarvis continued, "I checked their temporal records. They, particularly Ms. Carter, frequently traveled between universes over decades. They formed a new Multiverse Guardians, traveling to influence multiple universes. The chain reactions they generated have already affected over a hundred billion universes, and the influence continues to spread. This is the primary reason for the accelerated destruction of the Multiverse."