"Are you planning to go back?"
When Maria Hill found Ethan, he was standing beside the teleporter, waiting for Tony and the others to return. When he turned around, he saw Maria Hill holding a package.
"To be precise, I'm ready to go back."
"Back..."
Ethan understood what she meant. She was preparing to return to her own world, or more accurately, she was preparing to "get off the ship."
"I've been on your ship for several years now. All the crew members have already mastered the necessary skills. When you asked me to help command the ship, it was just to give everyone time to learn. Now my task is complete, and it's time for me to leave."
After all, Maria Hill was never truly a permanent member of Ethan's team. While she could gain many benefits here, her ideals and responsibilities lay in the Marvel Universe. She had to return and do what she believed in.
"You are an excellent commander."
Ethan originally wanted to ask her to stay, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
Everyone has their own ideals and goals. Maria Hill's dream was not here. She wanted to return and pursue her own path. Why should he stop her?
"Besides..." Maria Hill smiled. When she was working, she was always serious and cold. This bright smile was something seen only occasionally during breaks. "I'm afraid I'll end up coming back to you eventually anyway."
Members of Ethan's team had several life-saving measures. Apart from the ability to teleport at any time, even if they used all their resources and still couldn't survive, their souls would be sent to Ethan's "Little Heaven," and Ethan could then decide how to bring them back based on the situation.
Maria Hill had accepted enhancements, but only the most basic ones. Though her lifespan far exceeded that of ordinary people, she would still eventually die of old age.
When that time came, her soul would return to Ethan. In other words, her final destination was always going to be with him. It could be said she had already boarded the "pirate ship" and had no way off.
Considering that most of the current crew were not even on board and were scattered across several worlds doing their own things, her returning to the Marvel Universe wasn't much different. If Ethan missed her, he could visit her there anytime.
"I wish you all the best."
"Thank you."
Ethan figured she would definitely go back to work for an official agency. With the increasing number of people with special abilities emerging in the Marvel Universe, the government also needed a special agency to deal with growing superpowered crimes.
As for the Avengers? They did not handle ordinary crimes. They focused on global threats. The Avengers were not a purely official team and were difficult to mobilize. So Maria Hill would definitely be highly valued after her return.
Not to mention, over the past few years, she had helped train a group of law enforcement agents with special abilities.
Ethan didn't know if a large number of "paladins" would eventually appear on Marvel Earth or if these officially sanctioned superpowered law enforcement teams would replace the Avengers. Originally, that may have been inevitable. But due to Ethan's influence, the Avengers' combat power had significantly increased, making them difficult to replace.
While thinking about whether the Avengers would be replaced, a key member of the Avengers appeared before Ethan and Hill, arriving with Ada and Pepper.
"What's going on?"
As soon as Tony finished teleporting, he saw Ethan and Maria Hill standing there, and noticed the package Hill was holding. With just a glance, he understood that she was preparing to leave and didn't plan to return.
He didn't ask further. It wasn't his business, at least not until he truly joined the team.
"Nothing. Did everything go smoothly?"
"It was fine."
Ada spoke casually, but Tony couldn't hold things in and started going on and on. Ethan quickly filtered through the information and realized that the turmoil Ada caused was far more serious than he had imagined.
The place where Ada hid those fighter jets had nearly been discovered. It was only after she released several false leads and risked exposing herself to misdirect the pursuers that the equipment transfer was completed successfully.
"The fighter jets aren't important, as long as no one got hurt."
To Ethan, no number of fighter jets could compare to the safety of the people in front of him. If needed, he would give up those things to ensure their safety. But when he thought about it, there really wasn't anyone in that world who could threaten them. Even if they were surrounded by an entire army, the scene would quickly become a massacre in 'Musou' style. There was nothing to worry about.
"Let's go."
Ada originally didn't need to come along for this trip, so she was standing to the side, planning to return to Macross after Ethan and the others teleported.
However, as Ethan passed her, he casually put his arm around her waist and took her with him through the teleportation.
"Huh?"
In the blink of an eye, they arrived in the Marvel Universe, directly at Tony's house where he had installed the teleporter.
"You don't need me for this trip, right?"
"I just wanted to spend more time with you."
"We were together every day in Thea's world for over two years. Isn't that enough?"
For Ada, she had never imagined being that clingy with anyone. Spending more than two years together like that was already a surprise.
Even though she had been part of Ethan's team for a long time, she mostly acted alone and was often busy with her own missions.
"You'll have to get used to it. The days ahead will be even longer."
Holding Ada, Ethan said goodbye to Maria Hill again. With this farewell, she would no longer be part of his crew. By the time she reported back after death, Ethan's divine kingdom would likely be fully developed, and everyone would have moved into the divine kingdom instead of continuing to live on the ship as they did now.
After Hill left, Pepper arranged to go shopping with Ada, while Tony and Ethan headed straight down to the underground passage to the "birthing room" beneath Ethan's manor.
"How long has the regeneration equipment been active?"
It was convenient having Jarvis manage everything. A large amount of data was immediately displayed, allowing Ethan and Tony to understand the current situation.
According to the data Jarvis provided, the equipment had not been active for long. This suggested that the current point in time was just before Doctor Strange's negotiation with Dormammu.
As Ethan was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a strange power sweep over him. He was very familiar with this kind of energy and quickly identified it as the time rule of the Marvel Universe.
Ethan immediately activated his magic and connected to the time rule of this world, syncing with the energy released by the Time Stone. He successfully entered the time loop created by Doctor Strange.
Then he tapped Tony beside him with a hand wrapped in green magical energy and pulled him into the loop as well.
"What's going on?"
Tony looked around. Everything around him seemed frozen. Combined with the energy on Ethan's hand, Tony immediately realized what had happened. As a guardian of the Reality Stone, he wasn't unfamiliar with the Infinity Stones. Not to mention, he had also become acquainted with the Ancient One.
"Someone activated the Time Stone?"
"Yeah. Looks like the successor chosen by the Ancient One is in trouble. Want to go watch the show?"
Tony pursed his lips. There were so many things to criticize in Ethan's sentence, he didn't even know where to begin.
You already know he's in trouble, but you still say you want to watch the fun? That obviously means you know it's not dangerous. Still, it didn't stop Tony from going along to enjoy the drama. He liked watching things unfold just as much.
"You know where they are?"
"I can trace the Time Stone's energy to find him."
"What are we waiting for?"
Ethan raised his hand and opened a portal. He and Tony stepped through, one after the other, and saw Wong standing there, staring up at the sky in a daze.
"What is that?"
A massive spatial rift had opened in the sky. The energy pouring from it seemed capable of consuming everything. Even from here, they could feel its overwhelming power.
Tony's question made Wong turn his head. When he saw Tony and Ethan appear, a look of surprise and joy appeared on his face.
As a sorcerer of Kamar-Taj serving the Ancient One, Wong naturally knew both of them.
Tony aside, Ethan had been described by the Ancient One as a very powerful magic user. Now that the Ancient One had passed, if there was anyone left who could save Earth from this crisis, it was likely Ethan.
It wasn't that Wong looked down on Stephen Strange. It was just that he was still a rookie who had just started learning magic. No matter how talented, Wong couldn't believe someone with so little experience could resolve a crisis of this scale.
"We can talk specifics later, Master Ethan. Whether Earth survives this crisis will depend on you."
Ethan was looking up, examining the dark space above, while Kaecilius on the other side stared at him in confusion.
"Ethan... Master?"
He had never seen this Ethan before at Kamar-Taj, nor had he heard of a Master Ethan.
Where did this guy suddenly come from?
(To be continued.)