Bab 27: chapter 27
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"Why do you say that?"
A drop of cold sweat formed on Fury's forehead. Not because he was scared, but because he understood that Adrian had no reason to lie. Adrian was likely telling the truth.
Adrian's previous actions had shown his firm stance and accurate predictions, so Fury felt he could trust him this time too.
He asked again, more urgently, "Why do you say that?"
It was like a drowning man finally grasping a lifeline, only to realize it was an illusion. And Adrian's next words slowly, ruthlessly crushed his last remaining hope:
"Let me be clear. Even if you had fully mature time-travel technology, you wouldn't achieve your goal."
"Think of it this way: traveling back in time to change the past is like performing surgery on a patient, removing the diseased parts, then stitching them back together. The disease may be gone, but the timeline remains fragile, with inherent limits."
It was the first time Fury heard it put that way, but it made sense. If time travel had no cost, the universe would likely be filled with people from every point in time. Space wouldn't feel so vast anymore.
What Fury didn't know was that Adrian's words were rooted in truth. When the 616 Universe faced the Age of Ultron, they used time travel to save the world, but the timeline was left battered. The eventual reboots brought about by Secret Wars also had something to do with this—but that was all in the distant past.
Thor and Tony were also listening intently, noting Fury's conviction. Adrian nodded and continued, "The damage to the timeline is only a secondary concern. The real issue is that we cannot change the past because the origin of this crisis isn't from our universe, but from another universe."
"What?!" Tony, taken aback, shattered the glass he held, ignoring the shards that slipped into the cracks of his armor. He stood up, shocked. "If the threat to our world originates from another universe, what's the point of a time machine?"
"Calm down. Why is everyone so on edge? Can't you just let me finish?" Adrian rolled his eyes in exasperation as he watched them settle back down.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely their fault. This universe's technological level was relatively low; they had limited knowledge of parallel universes, let alone traveling to them.
Adrian took two glass pieces, placing them a few inches apart on the table, then dabbed water between them and marked a line in the middle.
"Each piece represents our universe and the invaders' universe. The water between them symbolizes the invader and the virus. Now, as for time travel…"
Adrian gently moved one piece without letting it touch the water, then looked up at the three heroes and explained: "Moving this piece represents time travel. Does it affect the water? No. Even if it touches the water, it doesn't change its presence on the other side."
"In other words, even if we go back in time, we would still end up here. The future will still be an apocalypse overtaken by zombies."
Fury clenched his fists. "I see. Going back to the future makes no sense, but what if we could return to the past and prepare the Avengers to fight this invader together? After all, this is just one being, right?"
Fury hadn't realized that Adrian was now sitting by his left side. Adrian looked over his shoulder and saw Thor still standing behind them, holding two cans of beer and listening intently. Of course, whether he understood was another question.
"Sorry, still a no."
Adrian shrugged. Just as they were about to lose patience, he added, "Because you simply wouldn't be able to defeat that individual."
At this point, Thor could only swing his hammer, Hulk had never been to Sakaar, Scarlet Witch was just beginning to tap into her powers, and Iron Man's armor was outdated in terms of multiverse technology.
In other words, even if they combined all their might, they'd have no chance against a force strong enough to destroy their entire world.
"But don't lose hope. There's still one place in this world where a nearly completed time machine exists."
"Where?" the three asked in unison.
Adrian smirked. "Latveria."
Boom!
The conference room doors suddenly burst open with a powerful force, the impact shaking the entire room. The door panel slammed into the wall with a loud crash, cracking and scattering pieces across the floor.
The three heroes initially flinched, then each reacted swiftly. Thor discarded his beer and grasped his hammer, Fury rolled behind the table and drew his pistol, and Tony prepared for battle.
But as they looked towards the door, all they saw was a cloud of dust and smoke—no sign of anyone.
Then, just as they were beginning to feel puzzled, a massive figure made of rocky yellow stones stormed into the room, followed closely by the Invisible Woman, Susan, and the Human Torch, who was ablaze.
The Thing's rocky face was tight, his brow furrowed in anger. Beside him, Susan's red, swollen eyes showed she'd been crying. Her clenched jaw and fierce expression revealed her fury as she shouted, "What did you do to Reed?! What did you do to my husband?!"
Adrian's heart sank. Of course, they would show up now. And it looked like Fury had eliminated her husband without informing her.
Fury took a step forward, his voice low. "Susan, I don't expect you to forgive me, but please calm down. Reed betrayed us. Killing him was my last resort."
Susan's face twisted as she screamed back, "Calm down? Calm down?! You killed my husband, the man I loved more than anything, and you're telling me to calm down?!"
She violently pushed the table, sending papers and documents flying in all directions. The dull thud of papers hitting walls and floors was drowned out by the loud clattering of electronic devices, their screens flickering from the impact.
"Not good!"
Before Adrian could react, he was thrown back by Susan's powerful telekinetic wave, slamming into the wall with a wince.
But fortunately, it seemed Susan hadn't completely lost her mind—she hadn't killed him. That was still a step up from Wanda.
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