Unlike the chaotic adventure where he nearly lost his mind after crossing paths with Deadpool in a parallel universe, Malrick's life on Earth had settled back into a steady routine.
Every morning, his Kryptonian-like body basked in the sunlight on his balcony, absorbing the rays as though it were second nature.
His Blood Sea Clone secluded itself in his inner world, endlessly studying the fundamental laws of the universe. The Blacklight Clone, after absorbing the mutant blood that Wanda had collected, returned to the Void Realm to continue its hunt.
Though spread across different universes, Malrick's three selves shared a unified consciousness. Their perceptions and thoughts flowed seamlessly, giving him a constant stream of awareness from every perspective.
In the Void Realm, Malrick often took on the playful form of a Siberian Husky, keeping Elios company as they waited for ruined worlds to drift into the abyss.
The Multiverse was infinite, and every day, entire worlds faced destruction—sometimes through apocalypse, sometimes by energy collapse, and often by Thanos.
Over a month passed, and on Earth, the calendar reached mid-December. Snow blanketed New York in silver. In that same span of time, Elios and the Blacklight Clone had devoured more than fifty fallen worlds.
Most remnants were barren planetary fragments, though sometimes a lone survivor clung to life. On one occasion, Malrick discovered an Adam Warlock drifting in the void.
This Adam, far less refined than his comic counterpart, matched the version from the movies—powerful genes but a simple mind. He had attempted to threaten Elios, warning him of his cosmic might. Instead, he found himself chased down, crying for his "mother," before being swallowed in a single gulp.
The Blacklight Clone's power skyrocketed after devouring Adam's blood, pushing its genetic level thirty-five times higher. Still, aside from Warlock, most survivors were unimpressive—many at Quicksilver's speed level, numerous but hardly remarkable.
While Elios devoured whole remnants, Malrick scavenged every fragment for preserved biological tissue, though there was rarely much worth saving.
Not everything in the Void was simple scavenging. Malrick once stumbled across a ragtag group of Lokis brawling over Thor's corpse. He crushed them swiftly, ignoring their self-proclaimed titles as the God of Mischief. When he told them Asgard had long been destroyed, their arrogance crumbled into silence.
Whenever boredom struck, he would find those same Lokis again, toying with them as a distraction.
Weeks passed, and through constant consumption, the Blacklight Clone evolved to an eighty-fold genetic level. Malrick's grasp of the underlying nature of life itself deepened, yet he still wasn't ready to alter or reinforce his main body's genes. That would require more time—and more power.
His plan was clear: once the Blacklight Clone reached sufficient strength, he would attempt to devour his main body's blood. From there, he could analyze and refine his own genetic code, paving the way toward evolution.
For now, patience was necessary.
A reminder of Earth pulled him back from these thoughts. A few days earlier, Wong had sent word that the new magic academy was complete and requested Malrick's inspection.
Just then, a lively female voice broke the morning quiet.
"Malrick? Why are you still sunbathing?"
He turned to see Gwen stepping through a shimmering time portal, dressed casually, waving at him.
"Didn't Wanda say you were busy today and couldn't come shopping with us?" she asked curiously.
"I am busy," Malrick replied with a sigh. "I don't have time to trail after you. And if you're looking for Wanda, why do you always come here first? This isn't a transfer station."
After their training with the TVA, the younger Spider-heroes had returned with countless rules drilled into their heads—lessons on traveling timelines, handling missions, and the dangers of paradoxes.
Holland's Spider-Man, in particular, often dropped by to see Tony. The TVA had already started assigning missions, and their first was to help Wolverine rewrite his past. Deadpool, naturally, had tagged along… though in the form of a talking dog.
During the mission, Wolverine fought desperately, while Deadpool barked snide encouragements at the sidelines, even wiggling his tail in mock triumph after the battle. Still, the mission ended successfully: Wolverine's past tragedy was corrected, and the X-Men survived.
Though the victory only affected a parallel timeline, Wolverine was satisfied. For once, he felt peace—declaring that even if he died that day, he would die with a smile.
Holland's Spider-Man, emotional as ever, was deeply moved. Tony encouraged him, and the boy began coming around more often. With Gwen also "accidentally" visiting—her time pad somehow always opening portals into Malrick's apartment—the visits became routine.
At first, Gwen's excuse was that she wanted to see Wanda. But it didn't take long for Malrick to realize she simply enjoyed dropping in. And every time she and Wanda met up, the "girls' hangout spot" inevitably ended up downstairs from his apartment.
Whenever Gwen and Wanda went shopping, they dragged Malrick and Natasha along. If he refused, they unleashed their practiced, shameless "cute" routines—moves so ridiculous they made even his near-invulnerable body feel helpless.
"Next time, open your portal somewhere else," Malrick muttered as Gwen skipped toward the door.
She turned back, grinning mischievously. "Can't help it, my time pad has a mind of its own!"
Just before stepping out, she added casually, "Oh, by the way, Logan went with Deadpool into Universe 10005. B-15 said they pulled off something huge. Deadpool's universe stopped collapsing because… he became the anchor point!"
Malrick raised an eyebrow. "Deadpool? An anchor point? That sounds more like his universe is on the edge of destruction."
Gwen winked. "That's why it's big news! I'm going to tell Wanda now!"
And with that, she vanished.
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