- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 429
The Ancient One cast a spell to open the Eye of Agamotto, placing the Time Stone inside.
“I imagine that with you helping, failure wasn’t really an option, was it?”
She smiled warmly and then added, “By the way, would you like to stay for some tea? I recently came up with a new way of brewing black tea, and it tastes quite good.”
Leo shook his head at the Ancient One’s gentle invitation.
“Maybe next time. This trip has been tiring; I just want to head back and rest.”
He wasn’t truly tired, but he preferred not to spend too much time around the likes of the Ancient One or Odin, whose depths were impossible to gauge. They might uncover some of his secrets.
Truthfully, even with his current level of strength, he still couldn’t see through the Ancient One.
As the guardian of the Time Stone, she had likely known about the different timelines and multiverses long before Banner approached her. After all, she could easily take Doctor Strange on a tour of the multiverse.
And Odin, too, had foreseen Ragnarok. Even Queen Frigga quickly deduced where the overweight Thor from 2023 had come from.
Perhaps these people weren’t as simple as he’d originally thought.
In mythologies, there’s a concept where powerful beings achieve unity of self—meaning that past, present, and future versions of themselves, as well as versions from other worlds, merge into one.
Like trying to kill the Buddha at a weaker point in time—it’s impossible because the Buddha, having achieved this unity, would instantly transform into his strongest self to thwart any threat.
It’s possible that Odin and the Ancient One had achieved such a state. While they might only seem to have the power of All-Father level beings in their respective universes, in truth, they may have transcended that.
When versions of Odin from different universes die, they all go to Valhalla. When versions of the Ancient One die, they join Eternity.
So, while their normal powers might seem limited to an All-Father level, in places like Valhalla or by Eternity’s side, they might be much more powerful.
Of course, this was all just his speculation.
With his current strength, he could be considered at the All-Father level too, as he could easily overpower Thanos without the Infinity Gauntlet. This was a clear sign of his power.
Thus, he had these inklings.
Still, he wasn’t too worried. His relationship with the Ancient One and Odin was positive, and since he wasn’t planning to destroy the world, as long as he didn’t spend too much time around them, there shouldn’t be a problem.
However, just as he returned home, intending to spend some quiet time with his wife Wanda, a portal of light suddenly appeared in his bedroom.
Several humans in specialized uniforms stepped out of the portal, each holding batons that resembled electric sticks. Leading them was an exceptionally strong Black woman.
“You know, barging into someone’s bedroom like this is extremely rude, right?” Leo muttered, pulling the blanket higher to cover himself and Wanda.
He was a bit surprised by their sudden appearance but not overly so.
The strong Black woman leading the group remained expressionless as she raised her metal baton and said, “Leo, I’m arresting you for violating the Sacred Timeline. Please get dressed and come with us.”
“So, it really *is* the Time Variance Authority.”
Leo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her words.
Ever since realizing that the timeline he was in was a branching one created by Tony and the others’ journey to collect the Infinity Stones, he had expected that the TVA would eventually come for him.
Just like with Loki in 2012, this new timeline was part of the script written by He Who Remains, and thus, its creation wasn’t an issue. But Leo’s interference in this timeline was the real problem.
He Who Remains wouldn’t just sit back and let things continue this way. He would prune the timeline, and in doing so, everything associated with Leo would revert to its original state.
Unlike Loki, who was being groomed as a successor by He Who Remains, Leo wasn’t.
But Leo had long since thought of how to deal with the TVA and He Who Remains. He wasn’t particularly anxious.
Was He Who Remains powerful?
In some ways, yes. But in others, no.
At his core, He Who Remains was just a person from the future, someone who could be killed with a single stab.
His real power lay in his mastery of advanced technology from the future, an upgraded quantum tunnel, and his understanding of the multiverse’s secrets. He could control Alioth, a creature that devoured time and space.
If you didn’t know his secrets, he could easily manipulate you. But if you did know them, while killing him might not be easy, resisting his tricks would be a simple matter—just like now.
“I suggest you leave my room immediately. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude.”
Hearing that they were here to arrest Leo, Wanda didn’t even wait for him to respond before she grew angry.
With a wave of her hand, dozens of Vibranium daggers appeared, all poised at the foreheads of the TVA agents. With a single thought, she could end their lives.
But the agents seemed prepared for this. The Black woman in charge lightly pressed a button on her metal baton, and a strange energy field radiated from it, enveloping the entire room.
Under this field, both Leo and Wanda were frozen in place, unable to move, while the TVA agents remained unaffected.
The small-scale time manipulation device could alter the flow of time within a certain range, designed to deal with difficult temporal anomalies. It was a standard weapon for TVA agents.
Given Leo and Wanda’s strength, the Black woman had reduced the time flow to its lowest setting, making it nearly identical to stopping time altogether.
“Take him and reset this timeline!”
The Black woman placed a time collar around Leo’s neck and then ordered the other agents.
Two agents immediately moved to restrain the time-frozen Leo, guiding him through the portal behind the Black woman.
The remaining agents placed time-reset devices around the room, preparing to activate them before following their commander back through the portal.
As the portal closed and the time flow in the bedroom returned to normal, the reset devices began to activate.
However, just as the devices started, three daggers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, destroying the devices in an instant. Two figures stepped into the bedroom from the living room.
(End of Chapter)