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Vought's underground research base.
Kevin and Hughie were isolated in sealed isolation rooms.
Through the window, Annie looked at Kevin inside with concern and softly asked him:
"Kevin, are you alright?"
"For now, I'm fine."
Kevin smiled and looked at the mirror opposite, as if he was smiling at Annie.
Annie was still very uneasy:
"If you feel any discomfort, please tell me, okay?"
"Don't worry, I understand my own body, and I chose self-isolation not because I would get sick, but because I was worried about infecting you all."
Kevin's voice was gentle, repeatedly carrying a unique, reassuring power.
Annie also unconsciously relaxed, no longer as worried as before, and began to chat with Kevin:
"Speaking of which, where did you go this time? Why were you gone for so long?"
Annie didn't know the principle of Kevin's World Travel ability, but based on his last World Travel experience, he should return at the same time he left.
It was impossible for him to disappear for so long before returning.
Annie had initially thought something had happened to Kevin and was extremely anxious.
However, without the World Travel ability, she seemed to only be able to worry in vain.
Those few days, anxiety and fear filled her heart, and she was often woken up by nightmares, the content of which, without exception, was Kevin suffering life-threatening danger in another world.
Fortunately, a day ago, Cate suddenly found Annie and said she had seen Kevin, and only then did Annie slightly relax, deciding to go to the small house Kevin used for World Travel every day and wait for him to return in person.
That's why Kevin saw Annie the moment he returned.
Because she had been waiting all along, without leaving.
However, even though Kevin had returned, Annie was also very curious about what kind of change had occurred this time that caused Kevin to only now return to his own world.
"This is a long story. Simply put, I went to a parallel universe similar to ours. Because the two universes were too close, it was difficult for me to return. If it weren't for Hughie from the other world, I'm afraid... Never mind, let's not talk about it. Anyway, I'm back, aren't I?"
Kevin spoke a few sentences, then didn't want to continue.
Mainly, he didn't want Annie to keep worrying.
And now, that wasn't what was important.
Thinking of the spacetime ribbons disintegrating in the void, Kevin's mood couldn't help but become a little heavy.
If the timeline continued to disintegrate like this, then even if the timeline Kevin was currently on was still intact, it would eventually disintegrate one day.
To prevent this from happening, Kevin needed to go to other worlds to find a solution.
After a moment of thought, Kevin organized his thoughts and said to Annie:
"Annie, what I'm about to say will be very important. You need to listen carefully."
"Um... do I need to call the other shareholders over...?"
"No, you can just record it. With your current authority, you should be able to handle all of this."
With Homelander and Stormfront dead, Vought became Kevin's one-man show.
As the boss's wife, Starlight also had a very high say.
What she said was equally effective within Vought, which is why Kevin spoke to her instead of actually holding a shareholder meeting here.
There was no need; besides Starlight, he couldn't trust the other high-ranking officials of Vought.
After confirming that Annie was ready to record, Kevin gave instructions one by one:
"First, have The Woods research the virus on the wild dog I brought back and quickly develop a vaccine that can eliminate the virus.
"Then, find a few aquatic animals, inject them with Compound V, and see if they can gain superpowers. If they can, bring those aquatic animals to me; I have a use for them.
"Next is the matter of the Hero Association. Tell Vought to just keep an eye on things over there for now; don't invest too much energy. The most important thing is the serum that can turn Supes back into ordinary people. Promote it vigorously and strive to make fewer and fewer Supes in this world..."
Kevin explained everything to Annie in great detail, and Annie very seriously wrote down everything Kevin said, not only by hand but also using a voice recorder.
After confirming that she had recorded everything Kevin said, Annie asked:
"Is there anything else to arrange?"
"One last thing." Kevin looked directly at the wall and said in a deep voice:
"Bring me the TemPad; I have a use for it."
...
The damaged TemPad, one of the valuable tools Kevin obtained in the Marvel World.
Although it was very damaged, it didn't prevent its use. At least through Drax's 'experiment,' Kevin could confirm that this thing still had its most basic function.
That is, to open a time portal leading to an unknown place.
Originally, Kevin had thought about researching this thing more, and then starting to replicate it or do something else...
But now Kevin didn't have that much time.
To solve the problem of intersecting and overlapping timelines, it was undoubtedly necessary to find the Time Variance Authority.
To find the Time Variance Authority, the TemPad was a crucial tool.
Kevin wanted to try to use the TemPad to find the Time Variance Authority. Before that, he also wanted to return to the Marvel World for a trip.
"Kevin, I've already arranged everything according to your orders, and..."
Annie's voice appeared in the isolation room. Kevin looked at her through the glass. She took out a special device with a yellowish-brown tone and said to Kevin:
"...I've brought the TemPad you wanted."
"Very good, now give it to me."
Kevin pointed to the conveyor belt dedicated to the isolation room. Through this conveyor belt, Annie could send the TemPad into Kevin's hand without physical contact.
But she didn't do that now.
"No, you have to tell me what happened first! I can help, Kevin! You know, my abilities have been strengthened by you, and... and that energy battery brought from the universe, I..."
Annie clutched the TemPad tightly, looking at Kevin with an almost pleading gaze.
She was truly tired of being scared and worried alone here. She didn't want to see Kevin disappear inexplicably, and she certainly couldn't accept Kevin inexplicably... staying in a certain world and not returning.
Well, perhaps saying it that way was too euphemistic.
Annie was actually afraid that Kevin would die in another universe without her knowing anything.
Kevin gazed at Annie, then lowered his head to look at the TemPad in her hand. He was silent for a long time before speaking:
"Annie, sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing."
"But I at least have the right to know! We're engaged, aren't we?"
Annie raised her left hand and placed it on the glass. The ring on her left hand, sparkling under the light, was particularly conspicuous.
Kevin raised his hand, placing his palm against hers through the glass, and said seriously:
"Precisely because of that, I hope you can be carefree."
"I want to know, Kevin."
Annie repeated again, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.
Kevin exhaled slightly and said directly:
"Alright, then I'll be blunt. Our world is disintegrating."
"...?"
"You might not understand it this way. To put it more directly, our world is about to be destroyed, and what I need to do now is save this entire world, but saving the world requires using magic from another world..."
"So, I'm sorry, Annie, you really can't help with this."
Kevin said earnestly.
He actually didn't really want Annie to know these things. Anyway, even if she knew, she couldn't change it, and it was even less possible for her to follow Kevin to another world to do anything.
To put it bluntly, Annie's current strength was too weak.
Yes, after her abilities were strengthened, she should be comparable to Homelander, but Homelander's strength now couldn't keep up with the crisis Kevin was facing.
If it were to go to Marvel's Earth, or some other not-too-dangerous place, Kevin wouldn't necessarily be unable to take Annie with him.
But unfortunately, this time Kevin had to deal with the collapse of the timeline.
It involved issues of the multiverse. Either Annie learned magic, or she had the ability to cross timelines; otherwise, she really couldn't help Kevin.
Considering Annie's feelings, Kevin hadn't been direct with her.
But now he couldn't afford not to be; if he didn't, Annie wouldn't give him the TemPad.
"..."
Perhaps realizing the hidden meaning in Kevin's words, Annie slightly opened her mouth trying to say something, but couldn't utter a single syllable.
She looked down at the tablet in her hand, hesitated for two seconds, and placed it on the conveyor belt next to her.
Ten-odd seconds later, the TemPad was delivered in front of Kevin.
"Annie, I'm sorry."
Kevin knew that his words just now might have hurt her, and he sincerely apologized to Annie.
Annie shook her head. She looked up and smiled at Kevin, saying, "I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I'm supposed to be your fiancée, but I can't help you at all. Kevin… I don't ask to go with you, I only ask that you come back alive."
"Hmm, I'll try."
"Whew, is there anything I can do here? You said the world is going to be destroyed. Shouldn't we, who live in this world, be able to do something?"
Composing herself, Annie asked, feigning ease.
"Just do what I've arranged. This time… I might be gone for a long time."
This trip to find the Time Variance Authority might involve time issues, so Kevin wasn't sure if he could pause the time in The Boys world.
He decided to plan for the worst-case scenario.
If the time on both sides synchronized, or if The Boys world's time continued to flow, then Kevin would need someone to help stabilize The Boys world's society.
As long as it wasn't for too long, Annie alone could manage it.
But if it was for a long time…
It wouldn't matter if it was for a long time. By then, the collapse of the timeline might arrive, everyone would die, and what happened to Vought and this world would be irrelevant to Kevin.
Also… right!
Kevin thought for a long time, and when he inadvertently saw the skill tree, he suddenly realized that his other few blurry icons were not yet resolved.
If Kevin's future path was to make more people in The Boys world recognize him and become the dimension lord of this world, then he must start promoting himself now.
No longer the old Deep, but something more grand.
"Oh, there's one more thing I need you to do."
Thinking of this, Kevin immediately told Annie his idea:
"Have Vought re-develop a promotional plan for me. You will personally oversee it. It is imperative that everyone recognizes the new me in the shortest possible time!"
"This… can this save the world?"
"Of course!"
Kevin's answer was without hesitation.
Annie nodded, half-understanding: "Okay… what kind of new image do you want?"
"Let the design department handle the image. For now, just get my new title out there."
"No longer Deep?"
"No, from now on, have people call me…"
Kevin's eyes flashed, and he said firmly:
"Sea God!"
…
Let Annie do what she should be doing now.
Kevin, on the other hand, was holding the TemPad, preparing to cross over.
The spread of the Sea God's image was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Besides, even if it did condense a skill like [Divinity of the Sea God], it wouldn't significantly boost combat power.
Kevin also noticed that the newly developed [Divinity of the God of Mist] was more like a special effect than a skill.
It couldn't be upgraded, and there was no channel to upgrade it. Its effect seemed to be merely making it easier for Kevin to control mist.
Kevin couldn't understand why it existed at all.
Perhaps it was for the next stage of skills on this skill path.
It was precisely because it didn't greatly improve his strength that Kevin didn't wait for the Sea God's divinity to condense before setting off for the Marvel World.
Heaven knows what conditions are required for the Sea God's divinity to condense. If it's different from the God of Mist's divinity, Kevin would just be wasting time.
Before that, he still needed to deal with the collapse of The Boys world's timeline.
Therefore, Kevin didn't hesitate for long this time. After getting the TemPad, he eagerly set off for the Marvel Universe.
This time returning to the Marvel Universe, Kevin had a few tasks to do.
First, he would try to use the Time Stone to see if he could restore the TemPad, though Kevin thought this was highly unlikely.
After all, the Time Variation Administration controlled the ability to nullify the power of the Time Stone and even any magical power. The Time Stone's power might not be able to affect the tablet.
But it was worth a try.
If it really didn't work, Kevin would use the second method: lock the TemPad to the time of that Marvel Universe, then use the Time Stone to travel back to the past, find the Time Variation Administration member who fled to this universe, and take the complete TemPad from his hand.
Kevin knew that doing so would also destroy the integrity of the timeline in his own world.
But it wasn't a big problem; after all, he would return it.
If none of these worked…
Then Kevin could only ask Tony and Rocket to see if they could replicate the TemPad.
Currently, these were Kevin's only methods.
He believed that among so many methods, one would surely succeed. There was no way he would be so unlucky as to never succeed once.
Having decided on the world to cross into, Kevin set off again.
White light appeared before him as usual, but this time, Kevin could distinguish some space-related magic patterns within it.
And he could see some green-tinged things within it…
Hmm?
Wait a minute.
Green?
When an unusual color appeared in the white light, and when Kevin realized that other forces were mixed into his crossing process, he immediately wanted to stop this crossing.
It wasn't surprising that Kevin reacted this way, it was simply because this crossing was too abnormal.
Normally, when Kevin was sent to another world by the skill tree, there would be no unusual colors in the teleportation light.
Of course, even if an unusual color did appear, Kevin might only think that something had gone slightly wrong and wouldn't be in a hurry to cancel the crossing teleportation.
But the problem was…
This was the Marvel World.
Kevin was all too familiar with what green represented!
The Time Stone was green, Loki's main color was also green, especially when Loki finally sat on the Story God's throne, all the timelines turned green like him!
The green Time Tree stood in the void.
That was the color of time, and also the color of Loki!
When such a color appeared in his crossing barrier, Kevin only needed to think for a moment to understand why!
"Loki! Is it really you!?"
Realizing that his crossing might have been tampered with, Kevin immediately locked the 'suspect' identity onto Loki.
Speaking of which, it was already very strange that he found the TemPad in that Marvel Universe. How could such an important item as the TemPad be so easily obtained by Kevin?
It was only because nothing happened when he got it that Kevin temporarily overlooked this issue.
But now it seemed… he had already been set up by Loki at that time!
Cold sweat broke out on Kevin's forehead. He wanted to cancel this teleportation, but after trying for a long time, he couldn't achieve his goal.
Instead, the surrounding green light grew more and more intense.
From just faint wisps at first, to later, all the magic patterns were stained with the color of time.
Pure white turned into emerald green, and Kevin's vision became increasingly blurry.
It wasn't until all the green light burst forth with a brilliance that prevented Kevin from opening his eyes that the crossing finally ended.
…
And when Kevin opened his eyes again, he was not facing the ancient Western European style architecture of the New York Sanctum.
Before him was a square, yellow-toned big-headed television.
That big-headed television hung in front of Kevin, and a line, he didn't know what it was, appeared on the display screen of that big-headed television.
No, Kevin actually knew what the line on that display screen was.
That was the Sacred Timeline.
So this… was the Time Variation Administration!?
Loki teleported me here? But that's not right, if Loki has already become the Story God, then how could the Sacred Timeline still exist!
What exactly is this—
"Hey, Kevin, break time. Want to grab some lunch?"
Before Kevin could figure it out, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder.
He instinctively turned his head and saw a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, wearing a dark brown suit, standing beside him.
The moment he saw him, a name suddenly flashed through Kevin's mind:
"…Mobius?"
The person beside Kevin was Mobius, the important supporting character in Loki, the agent who initially saved Loki and later helped Loki save the entire Time Variation Administration.
But… why does he seem so familiar with me?
Why did I suddenly appear at the Time Variation Administration??
So what exactly is going on!!?
At this moment, Kevin's heart was filled with questions.
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