MTS: Marvel and Beyond

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: TVA

Seeing Alex display one godlike power after another, everyone was overwhelmed with shock, frozen in place. Although they weren't affected by the stopped time, at that moment, it felt as if their own time had also ceased to flow.

Even Mystique and Beast were no exception. While they had known Alex possessed powerful telepathic abilities—enough to easily defeat Charles—they had never imagined he also wielded such otherworldly powers.

Now, Alex had revealed two distinct abilities: powerful telepathy and energy absorption.

Compared to telepathy, his energy absorption powers were far more terrifying. Disintegrating matter, halting time, and creating absolute zero—such capabilities were so formidable that if Alex had declared himself a god, everyone would have believed him without hesitation.

Mystique and Beast were already astounded, but their shock paled in comparison to Banshee, who had doubted Alex from the start.

Banshee had always assumed Alex wasn't a mutant, or if he was, he must have had a weak ability.

But now, Alex's powers seemed comparable to divine strength.

Banshee's heart raced violently, as if it might explode from his chest. A nameless terror engulfed him, and he felt as though one foot had already stepped into the underworld.

How could he have dared to provoke such a being?

Regret consumed him, and all he could hope for now was Alex's forgiveness.

But he was overthinking it. How could a giant possibly care about an insect? If not for a fleeting whim, Alex wouldn't have even paid him any attention.

With a casual wave of his hand, Alex caused Shaw and his companions to dissipate into the night breeze. If not for the gruesome bodies of the agents and the battle scars around them, everyone might have thought the terrifying events they'd just experienced were nothing but a nightmare.

After meeting the mutants of this era and analyzing their abilities, Alex stretched lazily and said, "Raven, I'm leaving. Say goodbye to Charles and Erik for me..."

Raven wanted to say something, but Alex had already disappeared without a trace. This was clearly yet another one of his mutant abilities!

The group fell silent again, each wondering just how powerful Alex truly was and how many secrets he still kept hidden.

---

After leaving the agents' base, Alex didn't immediately leave this universe. Instead, he traveled to a remote small town where he sensed a tremendous energy—the Phoenix Force.

In a modest white wooden house, a 7- or 8-year-old girl was playing with building blocks alongside her mother. At this moment, Phoenix's mother—who had died in a car accident in the original timeline—was still alive, and the girl had a happy family.

Suddenly, young Phoenix noticed her mother frozen in place, the blocks slipping from her hand hovering in midair. Looking outside, she saw birds defying the laws of physics, motionless in the sky.

She was too young to comprehend what was happening or the magnitude of the power at play.

In fact, the entire town, except for her, had been frozen in time.

The old wooden door creaked open, and a very handsome man entered the room, gently placing his hand on her forehead.

Looking at the young Phoenix before him, Alex smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm your guardian angel, here to help you..."

"Your mother is going to die soon. Do you want that to happen?"

The young Phoenix girl, though unfamiliar with many things, already understood the concept of death. She immediately burst into tears.

"No, no, I don't want Mommy to die!"

Alex gently comforted her.

"Don't cry. Don't worry, your mother won't die. I can save her.

But as a price, I will have to take something from you. Of course, your mother's life isn't as valuable as the Phoenix Force, so I'll make sure to leave something behind for you.

Do you agree?"

The young Phoenix girl nodded repeatedly. To her, nothing was more important than her mother's life.

The next moment, the girl fell unconscious. Hours later, as she woke up, time in the entire town resumed its normal flow.

---

From the young Phoenix girl, Alex had collected another fragment of the Phoenix Force. Now he had three fragments. The power radiating from these fragments alone rivaled that of three Infinity Stones.

Moreover, the Phoenix Force, much like the Celestial Core, could unleash limitless energy even outside the Marvel Universe. Compared to the Infinity Stones, it was far more valuable to Alex.

Leaving the movie universe, Alex opened another portal and stepped into a different parallel universe.

By now, his strength had reached the peak of a single universe, and he was on the verge of stepping into the multiverse tier. It was time to seek out the Time Variance Authority (TVA), the agency responsible for managing the sacred timeline.

Since Alex had entered the Marvel Universe, no TVA agents had come to prune this timeline, which brought him some relief.

There were only two possible explanations for the TVA's absence. One was that Loki had become the God of Stories, no longer focused on maintaining the sacred timeline.

The other was that the parallel universe Alex was currently in wasn't within the TVA's scope of observation, which was why no agents had shown up.

Alex hoped it was the latter. After all, if Loki had indeed become the God of Stories, his power would have reached multiversal levels. Loki would be able to prune timelines at will and control the absolute flow of time.

Facing a multiverse-tier being, Alex couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

However, unlike traditional multiversal beings, the God of Stories' authority was primarily tied to time, and his direct combat ability wasn't particularly strong.

Alex, on the other hand, possessed the Phoenix Force, which is easily multiversal tiers in essence. Additionally, he had mastered numerous time-controlling powers and had, to some extent, transcended the constraints of time itself. He was confident he could escape from the God of Stories if necessary.

What's more, Loki had to remain at the end of time constantly. Unless Alex caused significant trouble, it was unlikely Loki would leave the Sacred Timeline unattended to confront him.

---

Stepping through a portal, Alex arrived in the middle of a city reduced to rubble. In the distance, the Chitauri were battling the Avengers, while ordinary people desperately fled for their lives.

In the movies, the carnage and casualties weren't particularly graphic. But being on the actual battlefield was different—there were no PG-13 restrictions here. Blood and mangled bodies littered the streets.

The battle clearly wasn't over yet, and Alex had arrived a bit early. He opened another portal to visit an old friend.

Through the portal, Alex entered a new space. Standing nearby was a towering, three-meter-tall green figure, staring at him warily. Beside the green figure stood the Sorcerer Supreme in her iconic yellow robes.

The green figure, the Hulk from another parallel universe, turned to the Sorcerer Supreme and asked, "Is this one of your friends?"

The Sorcerer Supreme shook her head lightly, her expression grave as she observed Alex. From her perspective, the energy radiating from Alex's body was endless, as if an entire universe had been condensed into human form.

She understood what this meant. The man before her was a dimensional lord, a being on par with a Celestial.

But why had this man come to the New York Sanctum? And how did he master the spell for opening portals?

Alex didn't greet the Sorcerer Supreme directly. Instead, he turned to the Hulk and said disdainfully:

"You, like Thanos, gained immense strength by connecting with TOBA. But while Thanos could control his rage and use it to amplify his power, you cannot. Your strength doesn't even reach the level of a Skyfather.

You don't deserve this power."

Suddenly reprimanded by a stranger, Bruce Banner looked a bit at a loss and cautiously asked: "What are you talking about? Why don't I understand?"

Alex didn't bother explaining to Banner and bluntly said that ever since Banner had fused with the Hulk, he was essentially finished. By abandoning his most powerful "cheat code," the once invincible Hulk had fallen to the level of a mere super-soldier.

Though Banner could now maintain control of his body and stay rational at all times, he was no longer capable of channeling the Hulk's boundless rage. His power had been capped at its lowest level, and the glory of the Hulk was gone. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Brushing aside Hulk, Alex turned to the Sorcerer Supreme and directly stated: "Alright, Ancient One, stop stalling. Hand over the Time Stone. I'd rather not resort to force against someone as old as you."

Hearing this, the Banner immediately grew tense. He had been planning to take the Time Stone back to his universe and snap his fingers to save the half of all life killed by Thanos. If this mysterious figure took the stone, his universe would be beyond saving.

Banner stepped forward to block Alex's path, trying to look fierce as he said: "No! I was here first. The Time Stone must go to me!"

In the next moment, Banner's vision blurred, and a resounding slap landed on the side of his face. The force of the slap was so immense it felt like a meteor had struck his head. His consciousness instantly faded, and he fell into unconsciousness.

Oddly enough, despite the terrifying power behind the blow, Banner wasn't sent flying. Instead, he simply collapsed where he stood. Such precise control of strength was effortless for Alex at this stage.

The Sorcerer Supreme's expression grew more complex as she observed Alex. The more she looked, the more extraordinary he seemed.

Using the Time Stone, she attempted to foresee his future. Yet, she found no trace of him in any timeline, which meant that across infinite timelines, Alex was unique—there were no alternate versions of him in parallel universes.

He had reached the supreme state of oneness with all existence.

Facing such a powerful being, the Sorcerer Supreme cautiously asked:

"Honored guest, you seem to know me quite well?"

Alex swaggered over to her and reached out to rub her smooth forehead.

The Sorcerer Supreme tried to dodge, but the overwhelming force locked her in place, freezing her in time and space. Aside from her consciousness, she couldn't move or even channel a sliver of magic.

Alex chuckled with satisfaction.

"I've wanted to do this for a while. The Ancient One I knew was kind to me. She taught me portal magic, the Mirror Dimension, and other spells that helped me a lot. So, of course, I had to show her some respect..."

Internally, the Sorcerer Supreme seethed, silently cursing Alex's outrageous behavior: "So you came here to mess with me, huh? Young people these days have no decency."

From the pendant on her chest, Alex retrieved the Eye of Agamotto and removed the Time Stone within. He then took out a Time Stone from another dimension and began attempting to merge the two.

Alex explained as he worked:

"Don't worry, Ancient One. I'll return the Time Stone shortly.

By the way, the Infinity Stones are all manifestations of the power of a Cosmic Entity. Since their essence originates from the same source, there's a chance they can merge with one another."

If Infinity Stones from different universes could indeed fuse, their value would increase significantly.

Even though the Infinity Stones couldn't function outside the Marvel Multiverse, fusing multiple stones together could provide Alex with enough power to ascend to a multiversal-level entity.

Unfortunately, the results left Alex disappointed.

Alex's thoughts were correct—Infinity Stones could indeed fuse. However, the energy required to merge them was immense, equivalent to the power needed to fuse two parallel universes!

Such power would necessitate a being at the multiversal level. But if Alex were already at that level, why would he even need the Infinity Stones?

Realizing this, Alex decided to abandon this shortcut.

Tossing the Time Stone back to the Sorcerer Supreme, Alex was about to leave when a thought struck him. Turning back, he said: "The Time Variance Authority (TVA) has already set its sights on this world. Soon, they'll prune this parallel universe. I'll handle the first wave of their attack, but after that, you're on your own."

The Sorcerer Supreme's expression darkened, and she tried to ask more questions, but Alex had already vanished.

Meanwhile, Bruce Banner, with a swollen forehead, wobbled to his feet. Oddly, not even the Hulk's healing factor could restore the injury on his head.

---

The Mongolian Gobi Desert

The vast expanse of golden sand dunes stretched endlessly like a shimmering ocean, undulating all the way to the horizon where they kissed the azure sky.

The sun pierced through the scattered clouds, baking the earth below. The desert was like a blazing furnace, cooking everything within its reach.

Suddenly, a portal opened in the air above the desert, and a green figure plummeted onto the soft sand. Thanks to his durable physique, Loki emerged unscathed.

Standing up, he tried communicating with some nearby residents, but the language barrier rendered his efforts futile.

(A/N: Loki doesn't have the All-Speak in the show like he normally has in comics)

Just then, a golden, rectangular portal appeared nearby, and a squad clad in black armor stepped through. Their target was clear: the Tesseract lying on the ground.

Loki attempted to stop them but was forced to halt as another portal opened.

From it emerged a slightly plump woman with dark skin, holding a peculiar device. She scanned the surroundings and confirmed:

"It seems to be a standard temporal violation. The branch timeline's growth rate is stable..."

Loki, confused, asked:

"What are you talking about?"

The woman ignored him, continuing:

"On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby arrest you for violating the Sacred Timeline. Hands up, and come with us!"

Naturally, Loki wouldn't surrender without a fight. But as he prepared to resist, a strange baton with a faint yellow tip struck him. His perception of time slowed to one-sixteenth of its original speed.

As the woman prepared to take Loki into custody, a voice suddenly rang out from behind her team:

"Hm, so you're the legendary Time Variance Authority?"

°°°

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