As everyone followed Wanda's line of sight, they saw a Time Door suddenly appear in the empty space of the villa's living room.
Then Sylvie, her face stained with a bit of blood, stepped out.
The sudden appearance of the Time Door and Sylvie made Tony and Steve frown.
Wanda immediately stood up and walked forward.
"Sylvie, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Sylvie wiped the blood off her face and shook her head. "Loki was right. No matter which universe he's from, before he experiences certain things, every Loki is a backstabbing bastard who loves betrayal."
"Damn it, I was almost caught by Ebony Maw under Thanos!"
She turned her gaze to Linen.
"Long time no see, Judge."
Hearing Sylvie call Linen the Judge, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Hill all looked at Linen at the same time.
Although they already knew, Linen had never revealed his identity in front of them.
But now that Sylvie said it openly…
Tony and the others instantly switched to their "shocked expression mode" as planned.
Only Pepper looked genuinely surprised.
"Oh my god, Tony… Linen is the mysterious judge you mentioned?"
Linen stared at them silently for a few seconds.
Damn… Tony's acting is too exaggerated. Why is he holding his head and opening his mouth so wide?
Only Pepper is acting normal…
Ignoring the overacting, Linen looked at Sylvie.
"Long time no see? Do we know each other?"
Sylvie turned toward Wanda.
Seeing Wanda shake her head, she understood that Wanda hadn't told Linen about the Time Variance Authority.
"We'll know each other in the future. You've saved my life — and Loki's — more than once."
Then Sylvie said to Wanda,
"I still haven't found that thing. But Pharaoh Kang and Thanos have formed an alliance, and Thanos even received the Heart of the Universe from Kang."
"Wanda, we need to find a new way to stop them!"
Wanda's expression hardened immediately.
She turned, wrapped her arms around Linen, and smiled.
"It's a pity we didn't have a real child together during these 23 days. I have to go now."
"But it's fine. I'll come back for you, dear. Maybe next time, I really won't be able to suppress my jealousy and I'll steal you from myself in another universe."
Wanda then glanced at Tony Stark and whispered into Linen's ear,
"Be careful of the green Tony Stark."
After that, she stepped back, exchanged a look with Sylvie, and the two disappeared neatly into the Time Door.
Watching them vanish, even more questions flooded Linen's mind.
The green Tony Stark… Victor Doom?
Thanos and Pharaoh Kang in an alliance… and now a Heart of Eternity Thanos?
Is this Thanos mine or one from another universe?
And that card-version Loki on the Day of the Hanging Sun said Thanos invaded the TVA…
Tsk… I thought this world was just a simple movie universe. Looks like this is a lot more complicated.
But… also way more interesting.
Tony rushed forward as soon as the Time Door closed.
"Oh my god, Linen, you're the Judge? I can't believe it! But who were that Wanda and that woman just now? Why were they looking for you? And—"
Listening to Tony ramble, Linen looked at Pepper helplessly.
Can't you control your gossip-loving baby?
But Pepper's eyes were also shining with curiosity.
So Linen turned to Steve instead.
"Saving Natasha is more important."
Meanwhile — in outer space, inside a massive warship
"I'm sorry, Master. I failed to capture the intruder. Please punish me."
Kneeling on one knee and clutching his shoulder, Ebony Maw bowed respectfully before Thanos, who sat on the throne.
Thanos waved a hand dismissively.
"It's not your fault. Even I didn't sense that woman infiltrating our warship."
He turned his head toward Loki.
"You did well, Loki. Through this incident, you've shown me your loyalty."
"This is what we should do," Loki replied casually.
"You said that if I helped you retrieve the Tesseract from Earth, you'd reward me with Earth. So until that deal is done, I can't let anything happen to you."
Hearing Loki's disrespectful tone, Corvus Glaive immediately aimed his weapon at him.
But Thanos stopped him.
"You're right, Loki. I like those who keep their promises."
"Wow, praise the mighty Titan."
Loki grinned smugly and walked off.
After Loki left, Corvus stepped forward.
"Master, that Asgardian boy has no respect for you. He will betray you sooner or later."
Thanos seemed unbothered.
He played with the Time Controller Sylvie dropped during her escape.
After a moment, he said,
"As long as he retrieves the Space Stone from Earth, I'll give him Earth as promised. Whether he can rule it and call himself king…"
"That depends on his own ability."
"Earth is not as fragile as you think. Aside from the Sorcerer Supreme… there are people there even I don't want to provoke."
Thanos waved his hand, dismissing the generals.
After Ebony Maw and the others left, Thanos looked at Gamora.
"My daughter, it seems this universe is far more complicated than we thought."
Gamora nodded.
The TVA… she had never even heard of it.
Back in his room, Loki walked to the wine cabinet, poured himself a drink, and said,
"If you want a drink, don't hide. I can sense your magic."
As he spoke, a flash of green light appeared behind him.
A moment later — a TVA agent materialized out of thin air.
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