In the cinema.
After arriving, Wanda instinctively found a seat and sat down.
During this period, through the mysterious videos, Wanda had already learned many things that would happen in the future.
But perhaps only she had noticed—Linen appeared in every single one of them.
To Wanda, Linen was a mystery. After all, in those videos, she and he would one day have two children together.
She didn't doubt it—not because she was only sixteen and easily believed such things, but because deep down, she knew how much she longed for a complete family.
As the lights in the cinema dimmed, the screen flickered to life.
The first image that appeared was the entrance to an orphanage.
A black man stepped out, holding the hand of a small Asian boy—no more than five years old.
"Is that… Linen?" Wanda murmured curiously.
Natasha, Nick Fury, and Tony Stark immediately recognized him.
The little boy being led away was indeed Linen. They knew because they had already investigated him before—each of them had seen photos of him as a child.
"Looks like it's showing his past," Natasha said, sitting up straight. This was the first time the theater's mysterious "spoiler system" had ever revealed someone's past.
The scene shifted.
A young Linen was wandering the streets of Queens, attempting to steal wallets from passersby. Each time, just as he succeeded—or was about to—he hesitated, then called out to return the wallet.
By the time evening came, with nothing in his hands, he trudged home with his head hung low.
"Meow… meow…"
At the door, a small stray cat cried softly at him.
Seeing the cat, the frail little boy crouched down and gently patted its head, whispering,
"Sorry, little Sanhua… I didn't manage to steal a wallet today. Charles probably won't give me dinner, so I can't feed you."
The cat purred contentedly under his touch—but was soon interrupted by a harsh shout from inside the house.
Hearing the man's voice, Linen bit his lip nervously. Fear flashed in his eyes, but he still opened the door and stepped inside.
Inside, the black man who had adopted him—one of the Numbers Gang—was furious that Linen had come back empty-handed. He hurled curses and beatings at the boy.
"F***ing useless! I've raised you all this time and you can't even steal one damn wallet? You're worse than a pig!"
Under the rain of insults and blows, the thin boy just bit his lips and lowered his head silently.
When the man was finally tired of yelling, he shoved him away.
Linen staggered back to his tiny room, clutching his aching stomach.
Curled up on the bed, he hugged his knees tightly, tears rolling silently down his cheeks—yet stubbornly refusing to fall.
In the theater, Wanda's eyes welled up.
Seeing the little boy's frail but defiant expression filled her heart with pain.
Was this the kind of life Linen went through?
Oh my god…
In another theater, Steve Rogers sat stiffly while Tony Stark clenched his fists in anger.
No wonder Linen had gone berserk when he learned the Blood Parrot Gang was kidnapping and selling children.
No wonder he personally led the raid that wiped out their entire trafficking network.
Now it all made sense.
Even Natasha, who had seen more pain than most, felt her heart tighten.
My childhood wasn't much better, she thought. No wonder he became a "Judge" who never shows mercy to the wicked.
A person's heroism isn't in their words, but in their actions.
The scene shifted to the next morning.
The black man left the house, leaving only half a sausage on the table.
Starving, Linen crawled down from the attic, drank water straight from the faucet, and reached for the sausage—only to hear the familiar meow outside.
He opened the door to find the little calico cat still waiting, looking just as hungry as he was.
He hesitated, then knelt down and handed the sausage to the cat.
Under the warm morning sunlight, the boy's stomach growled as he watched the cat eat.
It was a bittersweet image—both tender and heartbreaking.
Everyone in the theater felt a pang of sorrow.
Time fast-forwarded. Linen, now around ten, stood before the same table.
The black man sneered, "I told you to steal wallets—still nothing. Told you to deliver flour to customers—refused even under a beating!"
He threw a pamphlet in the boy's face. "You Asians are supposed to be smart, right? Fine. Go to school.
That fool Obadiah Stane donated a fortune to some charity foundation. They pay a monthly stipend to 'gifted kids.'"
"You better make use of it, idiot. If you don't bring home that money, I'll sell you to the traffickers and ship you to Eastern Europe!"
Nine-year-old Linen nodded silently.
As he left the house, the morning light hit his face.
The calico cat had grown strong now—but still ran up to rub against his legs, purring happily.
And as always, the shadows in Linen's eyes melted when he saw her.
Tony Stark froze at the name "Obadiah Stane."
He knew that Stane had set up charity foundations to dodge taxes—but he hadn't realized that Linen had been one of the children helped by it.
If not for that money, Tony couldn't even imagine what would've happened to him.
He exhaled heavily, sinking back into his seat, feeling an emotion he rarely admitted—guilt.
Across the room, Wanda clasped her hands together, silently praying for Linen.
The montage continued:
Linen excelled in every class. Most of his prize money went to the black man, who still beat him—but less often now. Life seemed slightly less cruel.
At sixteen, after earning some cash washing dishes, Linen sat alone on a flight of empty steps, watching the sunset.
It was beautiful—but from his expression, everyone could tell he didn't want to go home.
Yet, as the sun dipped below the horizon, he picked up his bag and trudged toward that same house.
That cage.
Just as he reached the door, a woman's terrified scream echoed from the alley.
Without hesitation, he dropped his bag and ran.
In the shadows, a burly man was tearing at a woman's clothes with a lewd grin.
When he heard footsteps, he spun around, then sneered in relief at the sight of Linen.
"Well, well. The Numbers Gang's useless brat. What the hell are you gonna do—make a scene?"
"Get lost, before I break your damn legs!"
"Drake, let her go!" Linen shouted. "I just saw NYPD officers nearby—they're headed this way!"
Drake laughed. "You think I'd fall for that again? Last time you pulled the same trick!"
He pulled a pistol from behind his belt. "One more step, and I'll blow your brains out!"
Linen froze, trembling slightly—but when the woman screamed again, he clenched his fists.
He spotted a beer bottle in the trash can, grabbed it, and charged.
Crash!
The bottle shattered against Drake's skull.
Blood streamed down his face.
"You little bastard!" Drake roared, firing three times in rage.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunfire echoed through the theater.
Wanda gasped, covering her mouth.
Tony shot to his feet, trembling with fury.
"Goddamn it!" he shouted.
Steve Rogers inhaled sharply. He saw himself in that moment—scrawny, hopelessly outmatched, yet still refusing to back down.
If it were me, he thought, I'd have done the same thing.
Nick Fury frowned. Those bullets had hit Linen straight in the heart.
So if he had died… then who was the Linen they knew now?
Then, something strange happened.
The terrified woman suddenly stopped screaming. A smirk crept across her face.
Drake, still holding the smoking gun, froze mid-motion—literally. Even the muzzle flash was suspended in the air.
The woman approached Linen's body, eyes glowing faintly.
With a wave of her hand, the bullets flew out of his chest and the wounds sealed instantly—leaving no scars.
Linen gasped, eyes fluttering open. "I… I'm not dead?"
"Indeed, you were," the woman said softly. "But I brought you back."
She caressed his face, smiling. "Such an interesting little thing. I couldn't bear to let you die."
He backed away warily. "Who are you? What is all this?"
"You can call me Nemesis," she said, her voice echoing with divine power. "But the so-called gods… they kneel before me and call me the Goddess of Vengeance."
She snapped her fingers.
In an instant, Drake's flesh peeled from his bones. What remained collapsed into a pile of blood, bones, and organs.
Linen's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god…"
"Originally, I was going to destroy this planet," Nemesis said with a cold smile. "You know, I've wiped out countless Earths—and even parallel universes."
"But your presence… intrigues me."
She lifted his chin with one delicate finger, her tone both seductive and dangerous.
"Among all the anchors of the multiverse, you're the most unique."
"Your soul is… pure in a way I've never seen. For the first time, I find myself curious."
"So, little mortal… consider yourself lucky."
"With you here, Earth gets to live another day."
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