Superman and his team had only just left when—unbelievably—another group of "aliens" arrived.
The FBI director broke into a cold sweat the moment he spotted Captain America and Wonder Woman among the crowd. These two had been here with Superman previously and had left a deep impression on everyone.
"Relax, my friend," said Nick Fury, stepping forward to ease the tension. "We come representing another world—you could think of us as an observation delegation. And according to the international norms of any world, observation teams are entitled to safe reception, right?"
The director looked ready to call for backup, but Nick had already taken the initiative to smooth things over.
Tony muttered, unimpressed, "I hate this kind of diplomatic nonsense."
Steve gave him a side glance and replied quietly, "Still, you have to admit—this kind of diplomacy is necessary."
Over the team's internal comms, Tony added, "Honestly, I don't trust that guy. Always up to something shady. And I don't think he's qualified to represent my world."
Bruce Wayne replied calmly, "But he's good at dealing with bureaucrats—and I've already invited the Ancient One to join us."
This so-called observation team was technically assembled under the banner of the Multiverse Defenders… a glorified ad hoc task force.
Bruce had actually prepared for something like this earlier, originally planning to send a delegation to the X-Men's world to establish diplomatic contact in a more official capacity. That had been delayed due to other matters.
But after Superman's team reported back about their chaotic experience in The Boys universe and their confrontation with that world's government, Bruce, Steve, and several other heroes agreed: it was time to conduct a pilot exchange project there.
Originally, Diana wasn't part of the team. But because of Annie, she volunteered to make a return trip—overtime and all.
Most of the delegation were veteran "players" of the Quiz Game. However, few of them were particularly skilled at dealing with officials, so they brought along Nick Fury.
Nick, of course, was thrilled. He'd probably already dreamed of building safehouses and black-site bases in other universes—or, better yet, convincing foreign governments to fund his operations.
Bruce and the others were skeptical of Nick's motives and didn't think he was an ideal representative for the Marvel world. That's why they brought the Ancient One along to give the group some real weight.
Initially, the Ancient One refused.
She was semi-retired, had withdrawn from public affairs, and found the role inappropriate. After all, she had spent her life guarding the Earth's dimension from outside incursions—so to now be the one stepping into another dimension? That felt like a betrayal of her principles.
But after enough persuasion from Stephen, Bruce, and the others—along with a bit of moral guilt-tripping about The Boys world—she finally relented and reluctantly agreed to act as the team leader.
In hindsight, the delegation—despite being a ragtag bunch—was doing quite well. At least better than Superman's earlier visit, which had nearly turned into a firefight.
The FBI director quickly realized the situation had escalated beyond his authority. He contacted his superiors and ordered the armed agents, security personnel, and police to stand down.
Seeing the cooperation, Steve raised an eyebrow. "Nick, I never realized you were such a smooth talker."
Nick shrugged. "Maybe that five-nation joint notification letter I brought helped. The tech level in this world is a bit behind ours—they're understandably cautious when they sense the weight of the worlds backing us."
Then, he sent a discreet message to Bruce and the others' phones:
"The room is bugged. Watch what you say.
We're officially representing another world now.
As for the matter of the dimensional gate—let me handle it. Don't reveal anything."
Tony and Steve just rolled their eyes, not taking it too seriously. But Bruce gave Nick a long, thoughtful look.
The dimensional portal was no small matter. A stable gateway between two worlds meant opportunities for long-term trade, cooperation… or war.
The Multiverse Defenders didn't plan to use the portals for business or conquest, nor could they keep the gate open indefinitely.
But just because they weren't interested didn't mean others weren't.
Various government agencies in Nick Fury's world, the official bodies in Batman and Superman's universes, and even both Spider-Men's worlds were already trying to contact the Multiverse Defenders to discuss collaboration.
Unsurprisingly, the governments from those versions of the U.S. were the most eager—naturally interested in using cross-universe travel for colonial or military advantage. Some things never change.
And it was safe to assume that The Boys universe's U.S. government would think the same way.
Nick was making it clear: in upcoming negotiations, the dimensional gate was their trump card—a strategic deterrent.
Meanwhile, the delegation held discussions in a small conference room.
Outside, in the larger meeting room, Frenchie, MM, Annie's mom, Hughie's dad, and others were still confused. They didn't know what was going on.
They only saw the smaller meeting room's doors open—and suddenly it was filled with people. The previously arrogant FBI director had now turned ghost-pale and was fleeing the room, taking all the armed guards with him.
"Can we leave now?" MM's wife asked anxiously.
"I don't know," MM replied. "There are still people downstairs, and the crowd's only growing."
He looked deeply frustrated.
From what the future videos showed, he only joined Butcher after the Translucent died—and even then, he'd been tricked into it. He hadn't done anything that bad.
But now his whole family had been dragged into it.
Just then, Annie, Hughie, and Wonder Woman stepped out from the smaller room.
Annie waved and smiled. "We probably won't be able to leave today, but by tomorrow, everyone should be released safely. Want to grab a bite at the cafeteria? Don't worry—we're safe for now."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. They couldn't leave yet, but at least they were out of immediate danger.
Annie took the lead, but as a relatively new Vought recruit, she didn't know the building well.
The tour from Deep, seen in the future video, hadn't happened yet.
So it was actually Stan Edgar—Vought's former CEO—who stepped up as an impromptu guide, showing them around the facility.
Compared to earlier, he was now the perfect gentleman: polite, smiling, and gracious.
Gone was the arrogant tone from before. His dramatic shift in attitude clearly came thanks to Wonder Woman… and the arrival of the Multiverse Defenders observation team.