"Kevin, it seems you haven't been here for a while."
When Ancient One met Kevin, she, who was not in a very good state, suddenly said to Kevin.
Kevin slightly sensed the Time Line of this world and showed an embarrassed smile on his face:
"Sorry, something delayed me a bit. Has the Earth been alright during this period?"
"No, the Time Stone is with me, and I haven't died, so of course there won't be any problems, but it's hard to say about the future."
Ancient One said meaningfully.
When Kevin left the Marvel World before, he used the Time Stone to determine his time anchor point.
But when he returned from The Boys world and was brought to the Sacred Timeline era by Loki… no, by that green light, his time anchor point set in the Marvel World ceased to exist.
Because of this, the Time Stone, which was responsible for positioning, naturally fell to the ground.
Fortunately, Ancient One was nearby at that time and promptly retrieved the Time Stone.
Otherwise, if it had fallen into the hands of a malicious mage like Kaecilius, the development of this world would truly have gone astray.
As the Sorcerer Supreme designated by Ancient One, Kevin should feel embarrassed for not fulfilling his duties in the end.
Ancient One, however, did not complain about Kevin. She looked at Kevin and suddenly said:
"During this period, you must have experienced many things. I can no longer see through you."
"It's alright, I encountered a few things, but… it should be fine now."
"Hehe, if it's truly fine, then that's great."
Ancient One seemed to hint at something.
Kevin silently looked up at her, meeting her gaze.
Ancient One said nothing and turned her back to Kevin. A golden portal appeared in front of Ancient One, and beyond that portal was the second-floor garden of the New York Sanctum.
Ancient One walked in, and Kevin followed closely behind.
Only when the two arrived inside the New York Sanctum did Ancient One say to Kevin:
"The world is changing. If you don't find a way, everyone will die."
"..."
Hearing this, Kevin suddenly looked up at Ancient One.
For Ancient One to say this, it proved that she knew about the changes in the Multiverse and the fact that the Multiverse was on the verge of destruction.
But this shouldn't have happened.
Because Ancient One was just the Sorcerer Supreme of one universe within the Marvel Multiverse.
She wasn't Dark Doctor Strange, nor was she the time traveler Wen Yi; she shouldn't have been special.
Yet, she seemed to know everything.
At this moment, Kevin thought of many things, but in the end, Kevin asked nothing, only saying to Ancient One:
"…I will find a way."
"It's not just about thinking, you have to act."
Ancient One said earnestly.
She looked down at the bustling traffic below the New York Sanctum and said to Kevin:
"I know you don't like being the Sorcerer Supreme. In fact, I don't want to force you, but this Earth dimension needs a guardian, and you are more suitable to be the Sorcerer Supreme than Strange."
"You've already said that."
Kevin said.
Ancient One had said these words, and Kevin had also seen his own outcome after becoming the Sorcerer Supreme.
To say he wasn't diligent would not be entirely accurate.
Although Wen Yi's methods were a bit despicable, killing Strange for the position of Sorcerer Supreme.
But at least he truly guarded the Earth dimension from invasion by any other dimension, and at the same time, protected the original Sacred Timeline.
If Kevin also became the Sorcerer Supreme, he might do the same.
But if Ancient One knew the current situation of the Multiverse, then she should understand that the current Kevin is actually not suitable to be the Sorcerer Supreme.
Kevin was about to speak.
But then he heard Ancient One say:
"But I've changed my mind now."
Ancient One turned to look at Kevin:
"You are… more powerful than I imagined. If I were to bind you here with the position of Sorcerer Supreme, it would be irresponsible to the Multiverse."
"Then…"
"So I will follow the original destiny, bring the person who should come, and let everything 'return to normal'."
Ancient One murmured.
Her gaze looked into the distance, and Kevin followed her gaze.
Although that direction was filled with overlapping buildings, their gazes could still penetrate these buildings and see Strange, who was currently performing surgery.
He hadn't had a car accident yet.
But it would be soon.
Kevin no longer cared whether Strange would become the Sorcerer Supreme in the future. He just looked at Ancient One and said sincerely:
"Even if you let Strange become the Sorcerer Supreme, you don't have to sacrifice your life."
"Only death can enlighten Strange and make him understand what he needs to do."
"But I don't want you to die."
Kevin said seriously.
Ancient One might have made many mistakes in the past; she might not be a good person in the traditional sense, but in Kevin's eyes, she was a very good elder.
Kevin also learned a lot from Ancient One during his time studying at Kamar Taj.
For Kevin, Ancient One was a very good teacher, a person worthy of respect.
He was unwilling to let such an Ancient One die.
Hearing Kevin's sincere words, Ancient One smiled:
"Don't be so sentimental. You know very well that for us, death is not the end."
"..."
Hearing this, Kevin was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Ancient One's statement.
For big figures like Ancient One, the death of their physical bodies is indeed not the end.
The Marvel World has the Underworld, Hell, and many other dimensions that no one has ever discovered.
Even if Ancient One dies, her soul will still exist and not perish.
So she can go to any dimension she wants.
However, even so, acting purely as a soul is still very inconvenient compared to having a body; it's definitely not as comfortable as living in a physical body.
But considering Ancient One probably had her own arrangements, Kevin didn't ask any more questions.
He was silent for a long time, then changed the subject:
"…I have something I want your help with."
"Okay, you can."
"Uh…" Ancient One's decisiveness left Kevin stunned for a long time: "…Aren't you going to ask what kind of help I need?"
"The one who came here now is your clone, not your true body, which proves that you must have encountered some trouble, and this trouble must be very tricky, so you need help."
Ancient One said with a smile.
Kevin nodded slightly and said without beating around the bush:
"Yes, I do need help, but you agreed so decisively, aren't you afraid I'll ask you to do something dangerous?"
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, it's already my time to exit the stage."
Ancient One appeared very carefree.
At her age, her perspective on problems was completely different from that of young people like Kevin.
Kevin couldn't guess what she was thinking, but since she agreed to help, Kevin would owe her this favor.
After accompanying Ancient One to watch the city streetscape of New York for a while, Kevin finally bid farewell.
But just as he was about to leave, Ancient One called out to him:
"Kevin."
"Hmm?"
"You must remember, death is not the end."
Ancient One repeated this sentence again.
Kevin's eyes flickered as he firmly kept this sentence in mind.
"Okay, I remember."
Then he opened the portal and returned to the TVA.
...
Inside the TVA, Kevin's variants were in full swing, creating the time-pruning device.
Because this device needed to control most of The Boys Time Line, and even incorporate a part of the Marvel Time Line, it was very difficult to make.
Even with the data left by the TVA in the past, this thing was not easy to make.
Plus, Kevin hadn't been gone for long, so up until now, this thing only had a rough outline.
"To fully create this, we still need to personally observe the flow of the Time Line. I mean, the flow of your Time Line."
Inside the TVA, Ouroboros OB said to Kevin.
Because Kang the Scientist's Time Line had been altered, and Kang the Scientist no longer existed, the only true scientist left in the TVA was OB.
And this time, the creation of the time-pruning device was led by OB.
OB's request was normal, and Kevin thought the same.
He had originally wanted to take OB directly to The Boys world to observe the Time Line and give OB inspiration, but at that time, Kevin couldn't return to The Boys Universe.
He didn't expect to circle back to this point now.
"I will take you there. Besides you, is there anyone else who wants to go with me?"
Kevin turned to look at the others.
The surrounding Kevin variants looked at each other, and finally Nightcrawler stepped forward and said:
"We don't need to. After all, no one knows what kind of bad consequences might arise if we leave the Marvel Universe."
"Alright."
Nightcrawler and the others decided to stay, and Kevin didn't force them.
After confirming that no one else wanted to leave with him, he placed his hand on OB's shoulder, intending to take him back to The Boys world.
But before they left, Nightcrawler called out to him again:
"Wait, is it okay for you to go back with your clone?"
Currently, Kevin's true body was still sitting on the throne. It was fine for his clone to move around within the Marvel Universe before, but now, leaving the Marvel Universe… wasn't it a bit too risky?
What if the clone dissipated directly after leaving the Marvel Universe, leaving OB stranded in some remote corner?
Of course, if he was just thrown into a remote corner, it would still be fine; at least he would be alive.
He was afraid that Kevin would throw OB into the Void, and OB, with only the physical qualities of an ordinary person, would surely be doomed.
"It's fine, I have a sense of proportion. Do you think the Marvel Universe and The Boys Universe are very far apart now?"
Kevin winked at Nightcrawler, then left the Marvel Universe with OB.
Now the Marvel World and The Boys world were almost indistinguishable, so taking someone away wouldn't cause any problems at all.
In fact, Kevin now suspected that, given the progress of the DC Universe, he probably wouldn't have any issues even if he used his clone to go to the DC Universe.
However, speaking of the DC Universe… it was also time to call for some help from the DC Universe.
...
When they returned to The Boys world, Kevin's clone had reverted to its juvenile form.
After all, Annie and the others were already familiar with Kevin's juvenile appearance, and if Kevin changed back to his previous appearance, they probably wouldn't be used to it.
Moreover, Kevin's true body hadn't changed back yet. When they got used to Kevin's adult form and then saw Kevin's true body, they would still be unaccustomed.
Instead of constantly switching back and forth, it was better to consistently maintain the appearance of his true body.
"Wow… you got smaller!"
OB had never seen Kevin's childhood appearance. Upon seeing Kevin instantly transform into his current appearance, he widened his eyes in surprise.
Kevin didn't explain and directly took him to find Rocket and the others, who were studying the pruning device, and introduced them:
"Allow me to introduce you. This is Ouroboros, the genius researcher from the TVA, and the creator of the TVA handbook you all have in your hands."
Then Kevin turned to OB and introduced him: "Rocket, Hank, well, they are also very smart people, and should have a lot in common with you."
"Kevin, did you abduct a researcher from the TVA?"
Rocket, standing on a box, turned to look at OB and said with a smile, "You didn't blow up the TVA, did you?"
"Don't think I'm like Quill, okay! I would never do something so stupid!"
Listening to Rocket's teasing, Kevin rolled his eyes.
OB looked at Rocket, a surprised expression on his face: "Wow, a talking raccoon!"
"I told you not to call me a raccoon! By the way, why does everyone call me a raccoon when they meet me?!"
"Because you are a raccoon."
OB said bluntly.
Rocket almost bristled at the words.
Rocket still didn't know his species. Although there were pictures of raccoons on Earth, Rocket had been concentrating on studying the containment device during this period and hadn't checked his species online.
Moreover, he probably didn't want to recall past sad events, so until now, Rocket didn't know he was a raccoon.
Kevin, considering Rocket's feelings, didn't make it clear to him but stepped forward to mediate:
"Alright, alright, OB, he has a name. From now on, call him Rocket."
Then he turned to Rocket and said, "Rocket, OB didn't mean it. You know, you really do look like a raccoon."
"…Alright."
With Kevin stroking his fur, Rocket no longer bothered about OB's way of addressing him.
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief, then didn't dare to stay there, leaving the research space to these super-intelligent bigshots.
Everyone has their own specialty. Kevin knew nothing about research, so he wouldn't stay there to cause trouble for them.
Back in The Boys world, Kevin confirmed the progress of The Superhero Association, the Guardians, and the X-Men.
They were now dealing with emerging Super Villains worldwide, whether powerful Supes or 'famous' Super Villains organizations, all of them were being knocked out one by one like whack-a-moles.
The world was recovering peace in an orderly manner. At this rate, it would only take a few days for them to complete the task Kevin had assigned.
Kevin also took this opportunity to organize the magic list he had received from Wen Yi.
The memories left by Wen Yi were also a considerable treasure. His years of dedicated study of magic knowledge and techniques now all belonged to Kevin.
Among these magical techniques, in addition to the original magic of the Marvel Universe, there were also many of Wen Yi's original spells.
These spells gave Kevin great inspiration. In just a few days, Kevin extended more magic from these spells.
Now, calling Kevin a 'Thousand-Spell Mage' would be absolutely no problem.
Magic enhanced the breadth of Kevin's strength, giving him more ways to deal with enemies.
Although Kevin currently had no opponents and further strengthening his power seemed meaningless, no one would dislike being stronger, just as no one would dislike money.
It took some time to master magic, and by the time Kevin had categorized all the spells, The Superhero Association and others' 'global cleanup operation' had also come to an end.
Kevin went to find Annie during this time and asked her:
"I'm going to see some old friends later. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yes!"
Annie answered without hesitation.
Annie had wanted to follow Kevin before, but Kevin always refused.
Now that Kevin had invited her, of course she had to seize this opportunity.
"Logan, what about you? Do you want to come with me?"
After asking Annie, Kevin looked at Logan.
He hadn't forgotten that Logan had once told him that when he had the chance, he wanted to travel to other parallel universes with Kevin, and now was the best opportunity.
When Kevin asked Logan, Logan was smoking.
Hearing Kevin's question, he exhaled a smoke ring, looked around, especially at the grown-up Laura.
Laura, seeing Logan's gaze, rolled her eyes:
"Why are you looking at me? If you want to go, just go. Are you worried I'll cause trouble?"
"Yes, I'm worried you'll cause trouble."
Logan was blunt, which stunned Laura.
Although she had grown up, Laura, who still had a bit of a girlish temperament, glared fiercely at Logan, then said to Kevin:
"Uncle Kevin, why don't you take me with you? It's much better than taking an old man."
"…Un…Uncle…?"
Hearing Laura's address, Kevin's mouth twitched.
Although by seniority, Kevin was indeed Laura's uncle, after all, Kevin and Logan were of the same generation.
But… but his current appearance was that of a teenager!
He's younger than you!
How did you manage to call him 'Uncle'?!
Kevin had a mouthful of complaints he didn't know whether to voice, and the Guardians almost burst out laughing when they heard Laura's address to Kevin.
Logan was also helpless. He put the half-smoked cigar back into the case and said to Kevin:
"I'll just go with you."
"What? Are you afraid I'll abduct your daughter?"
Kevin squinted at Logan.
Logan didn't say anything, took two quick steps to Kevin's side, and put his hand on his shoulder:
"Alright, stop with the nonsense, let's go."
Seeing him guarding against him like a thief, Kevin knew this guy was definitely afraid he would abduct his daughter.
He didn't expect it, the dignified Wolverine actually became a doting father…
Muttering to himself, Kevin originally wanted to say a few more words to tease Logan, but when he noticed Annie's probing gaze from the side, his heart suddenly tightened, and he didn't dare to say anything more, leading Logan and Annie to the DC Universe.
The DC Universe had already entered The Boys Universe's scope, so even if Kevin was a clone, it wouldn't hinder him from going to the DC Universe.
And this time to the DC Universe, besides seeing old friends, Kevin also had a mission.
That was to find helpers.
More helpers.
…
"This is your kitten. Please take good care of her from now on."
Inside a pet shop in Metropolis, the beautiful female shop owner, wearing glasses, personally handed a small kitten to a customer.
However, after receiving the cat, the customer did not leave immediately. Instead, he smiled at the female shop owner and asked:
"Excuse me, this is my first time raising a cat. May I ask if there are any precautions?"
The male customer, wearing glasses, had a glint of light reflected in his lenses.
Buying a cat was just an excuse; his real purpose was to meet the beautiful female shop owner in front of him.
Using his inexperience with cat ownership as an excuse, he wanted to have more common topics with the female shop owner.
When the time was right, he would ask for her contact information under the pretext of 'needing long-term guidance'.
Then…
The bespectacled man thought a lot, even fantasizing about their future together.
However, before the bespectacled man could think further, the beautiful female shop owner smiled and pointed to a printed sheet next to the counter.
"All the precautions are on this. Just take one copy."
"…"
His plan was aborted before it even began, and the bespectacled man immediately froze.
He silently looked at the printed sheet, about to say something else.
Then he heard the female shop owner continue:
"If you have any questions in the future, please call the store's public hotline. If the kitten has more serious problems, please send her to the nearest pet hospital immediately.
"If the kitten's problem is related to our store, our store will be responsible for compensation, but if it is not, our store will not be responsible. Thank you for your cooperation."
The female shop owner rattled off a long string of words, blocking all of the bespectacled man's attempts to ask for her personal contact information.
He chuckled awkwardly. Faced with the female shop owner's formulaic business smile, the bespectacled man didn't dare to linger and hurriedly left the small pet shop named 'Kara's Loving Pets' with the kitten.
"You really have patience."
After the man left, a red-haired woman walked out from the pet shop's aquatic pet area.
She complained to the female shop owner:
"People like him clearly have bad intentions. You should just kick him out. Why talk to him?"
"The customer is God."
The female shop owner pushed up her thick glasses and replied.
The red-haired woman rolled her eyes:
"But whether your 'God' will take good care of the kitten is an unknown."
"It's okay." The female shop owner's smile remained: "I'll keep an eye on him. If he dares to abuse that cat… I'll let him experience the thrill of bungee jumping from a high altitude."
Although the female shop owner's smile was kind, those familiar with her could sense the danger beneath her smile.
The red-haired woman said nothing this time.
Because she knew that the female shop owner could definitely do what she said.
After all, this person was the only Kryptonian in this world, and also the Superhero now known as 'Supergirl', Kara Zor-El.
Or now she could be called by her Earth name.
Kara Kent.
After the Zod invasion, Kara stayed on Earth, working as an ordinary pet shop owner.
The pet shop was sponsored by Wayne Enterprises, backed by the Justice League assembled by Bruce, so there was no need to worry about money.
And Kara, who had no worries about food or drink, after living on Earth for a period of time, began her Superhero activities due to an opportunity.
That's how the name 'Supergirl' came about.
However, most of the time, Supergirl didn't need to intervene in many matters.
After all, Kara wasn't Clark; she didn't have that much affection for Earth. If something happened right before her eyes, Kara would help.
But for places further away, Kara wouldn't bother.
So most of the time, Kara would stay in the pet shop as the owner, which also attracted many guys who were interested in her beauty to come and strike up conversations.
And because of this, Kara became so 'experienced'.
Well, experienced in dealing with pick-up attempts.
Chatting with Kara, the wind chimes at the door soon rang again, signaling that another customer had arrived.
Kara and her friend Mera stopped talking and looked towards the door.
"Welcome… Um… little one?"
Then they saw a child, who looked about twelve or thirteen, entering through the door.
They didn't know if it was their imagination, but they both felt that the child in front of them looked a bit familiar.