Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

Night.

The little wolf girl had fallen asleep in his arms.

Russell wasn't sleepy. He lay awake in the darkness, thinking about his next plan.

The computing components had already been assembled and connected. As a result, the time required to crack the time tablet had been greatly reduced—from the original three years to just one month.

That was good news. It meant he no longer had to risk visiting the black market.

However, once the time tablet was unlocked, he couldn't take Laura with him on his travels through the timeline. It would be too risky—and too inconvenient.

But leaving her behind here wasn't exactly safe either.

Although Cassandra had fled in disgrace, her consciousness remained.

And Russell knew all too well—someone with psychic abilities as strong as hers could easily possess a new body. A retreat like that wouldn't have caused any lasting damage to her.

If he ran into her again, there wouldn't be another "Khonshu" showing up to save him.

Relying on luck alone? That's a fast track to death.

So, he needed to relocate.

Russell thought about moving to the ruined city—far away from Cassandra's faction and brimming with dumb Lokis.

It was perfect.

Even better, that place aligned with his next target: Illusion Magic.

The high-level spell from Asgard would be incredibly useful for traveling across timelines.

Next, he just needed to decide: which timeline to visit first…

BOOM!

The ground trembled violently. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.

"Earthquakes? In the Void?"

Although Russell was confused, it didn't slow his reflexes. Holding the now-awake wolf girl close, he rushed out of the house.

The next second, both of them froze.

A golden beam of energy had pierced the dark sky in the distance, lighting up the night like a divine spotlight.

Even from so far away, Russell could feel its terrifying destructive aura—it made his heart race with dread.

Clearly, that attack was the cause of the quake.

"Isn't that... the direction of the black market?" the little wolf girl asked in shock.

Russell's expression darkened.

Was this retaliation for what happened earlier?

But Cassandra shouldn't be capable of something like that.

So, that could only mean—TVA had arrived.

That kind of power… it made sense. An organization that governed timelines would naturally wield devastating weaponry.

Just then, a maniacal voice echoed across the skies:

"You pathetic survivors!"

"Did you really think I showed up today by chance?"

"You've all been played!"

"Back then, I was cut off on purpose. Only here can I safely collect souls without triggering timeline branches!"

"And the best part... thanks to your positive and negative energies, I will surpass the Celestials and become a god!!"

A faint green light flared up.

Suddenly, a massive pyramid made entirely of soul energy appeared—an ethereal, shimmering colossus!

Positive and negative energy surged toward it, triggering some kind of chemical-like reaction.

The green pyramid started to glow gold—and it began solidifying.

Then the golden energy column suddenly shrank and vanished.

In its place, blood-red lightning cracked the sky.

The time monster Elrios had arrived!

But this time, it didn't roar. It dove straight into the pyramid and detonated—BOOM!

Red lightning exploded like a waterfall, crawling across the surface of the pyramid, melting it in terrifying waves of corruption.

"Dream on!" a voice thundered.

Khonshu's voice rang out again:

"Solar Authority!"

Suddenly, night turned to day!

A burning sun materialized in the sky, flooding everything in blinding light.

The blood-red lightning hissed and began to vanish, overwhelmed by divine sunlight.

Khonshu seemed to have the upper hand.

But Russell wasn't so sure.

And he was right.

The next moment, multiple TVA portals appeared in the sky!

But instead of time agents or machines, thick orange-gold liquid began pouring out of them.

The liquid splashed onto the blazing sun—and instantly, golden cracks started spreading across its surface.

Russell's eyes widened.

He recognized those cracks. They were the same ones he'd seen on the castle at the end of time.

In an instant, the sun was extinguished—its remains plummeting to the ground like glowing wreckage.

The sky darkened once more.

Suddenly, wedge-shaped golden runes manifested in midair. They rotated and interlocked, forming an enormous magic circle.

Artificial stars flickered to life overhead.

Moonlight descended from nowhere, shining onto the orange-gold liquid—but instead of stopping it, the moonlight became infected, turning orange-gold itself. It then materialized and rained down in corrupted chunks.

Russell squinted. He saw that the falling shards had intricate golden lines etched inside them—seals, most likely.

They could suppress all kinds of energy and objects.

It was obviously time-based magic… but why did it work like this?

Khonshu's voice roared again, but this time, it wasn't calm—it was furious.

"This is impossible!"

"Where did you get so much negative time energy?!"

"Was this your plan all along—binding every timeline just to extract power?!"

"You disgusting time thieves!"

A giant spectral scale appeared in the sky.

The soul pyramid shattered completely—its pieces landing on the left pan of the scale.

The scale tipped.

A vortex tore open.

It was the legendary Gate of the Afterlife.

Khonshu's silhouette appeared—then dove into the gate without hesitation, leaving behind a solemn curse:

"Whoever remains—I curse you to die in time!"

The gate vanished in an instant.

On the ground, the sealed remains of the "sun" cracked open!

Although it wasn't fully sealed, only a core the size of an eyeball remained.

Then—FLASH!

Blinding light erupted!

The artifact self-destructed.

The world turned white. Nothing could be seen.

After over ten seconds, the void finally darkened again.

There were no more portals, no more golden liquid, no more shattered pyramids.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Russell stared at the sky, deep in thought.

This part of history... it didn't appear in Deadpool 3 or Loki.

Was it covered up—or changed entirely?

And how did this so-called "Moon God" know so much?

He sighed.

This is Marvel. Uncertainty is the only constant.

If he relied solely on canon plotlines, he'd be dead already.

That thought made him more determined than ever to grow stronger.

He decided he wouldn't wait—he'd head to the ruined city immediately.

But just then… something strange occurred.

Dots of green matter appeared in Russell's vision, slowly drifting toward him.

They multiplied and gathered, forming a glowing cloud—

—and closing in fast.

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