American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

328. Return to the Future 1999.

The sound of air friction filled the room as an intense purple light shot into the sky, swallowing everyone within it.

In the distance, Mister Fantastic was still paralyzed, his eyes wide open as he watched the scene unfold, filled with anxiety.

He knew that Kang the Conqueror intended to drag Logan into the time vortex before dying. If Kang succeeded, Logan would never return. He'd be lost in the time stream forever, until death.

Mister Fantastic desperately wanted to do something, but he had lost all ability to move. Stopping Kang was impossible—he couldn't even lift his own arm.

At that moment, the sound of wings flapping suddenly echoed in the air.

Along with the sound of wings, a hand appeared behind Logan.

A middle-aged man in a khaki trench coat appeared suddenly behind Logan. Just as Logan was about to be pulled into the portal, the man reached out and grabbed him by the collar, stopping him in place.

"This... can't be..."

Kang's eyes flashed with terror. The next second, he fell into the portal, disappearing from the scene.

Logan, saved by the middle-aged man, narrowly escaped the portal's range. Still shaken, Logan turned around, thinking that Mister Fantastic had extended his arm to save him at the last moment. But to Logan's surprise, standing before him was someone who shouldn't have been there at all!

"Hey."

The sound of a lighter flicking echoed as the man lit a cigarette. Constantine smiled and raised an eyebrow at Logan.

"You! It's you!?" Logan pointed at Constantine, momentarily speechless. He didn't understand how this trickster, who wasn't supposed to be there, had arrived, especially since he himself was the only one who had traveled through time.

Unbothered by Logan's shock, Constantine raised his arm, and a raven landed on it. He stroked the bird's feathers and remarked.

"Kang the Conqueror, huh? I didn't expect such a terrifying supervillain in this world. But, although he can see everything that happens along the timeline, he can't see the future of those who share the same 'time traveler' status as him."

"Wait a minute. What are you exactly?" Logan stepped closer to Constantine, frowning as he looked at the man, who stood half a head taller than him. "Why didn't you tell me you could travel through time too?"

"Don't make a big deal of it, Logan. It's just a trick," Constantine said with a smile, handing Logan a cigarette. "I used the blood of a fallen angel that I smeared on you to make it happen. In our world, only angels have the ability to travel through time."

Hearing this, Logan turned to look at his shoulder. Sure enough, the blood had dried into something like ash on his skin. Then, he looked back at Constantine. "So that was your goal. You wanted to use me as some sort of..."

"Coordinate," Mister Fantastic, still numb, muttered from the distance, helping out.

"Yeah, a coordinate. Then, after I arrived at this point in time, you used your magic to follow me here," Logan said, his frown deepening.

"You could say that," Constantine didn't deny it. "In fact, this was Alex's plan. I don't know much about your universe, so to ensure Alex's grand plan went smoothly, someone had to make sure you all didn't mess things up."

"You don't trust me?" Logan asked, slightly offended.

Constantine smiled without answering. He had actually arrived in this timeline before Kang, but had stayed hidden, choosing not to intervene.

He had seen Logan's attempt to alter history but didn't interfere. Logan realized too late that he had arrived at the wrong time, that the X-Men had already been wiped out, and there was no way to change the past.

"At least you won't die in the time stream now, so you're welcome," Constantine said, patting Logan on the shoulder. He then turned and pulled out two playing cards, flicking them towards Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.

The cards turned into streaks of light in mid-air, merging into the bodies of the two heroes and transforming into healing energy, mending their injuries.

"Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, right? I've heard a lot about you two. Alex told me to make sure you're both safely brought back, along with the Ultimate Nullifier."

Mister Fantastic, stunned, shook Constantine's hand. "You're the hero from another world?"

"Just call me Constantine. I wouldn't say I'm much of a 'hero,'" Constantine said with a smile. He waved his hand, and a golden magic circle appeared out of thin air, absorbing the Ultimate Nullifier and other artifacts into his magical space.

"Wait, I'm confused," Invisible Woman, wiping the blood from her nose, mumbled. "What's going on? Aren't you here to save this timeline?"

"In fact, their goal isn't to save the 'past,' but to save the 'future.'"

Mister Fantastic quickly pieced together the entire situation. He slowly stood up, his gaze shifting between Logan and Constantine as he continued speaking.

"Logan's goal must be to retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier and go back to stop Galactus, while Mr. Constantine's goal is to ensure Logan completes this plan and, incidentally, bring the two of us back to the future with him."

"Wait, we can't leave. You're disrupting the flow of the timeline," the Invisible Woman tried to protest, but Mister Fantastic quickly interrupted her, giving a bitter smile as he asked.

"In fact, they haven't disrupted the timeline. Logan, tell me, in your memory, what was the outcome for Susan and me in 'your history'?"

Logan frowned, sighed deeply, and said in a somber tone, "Barton told me that you were defeated by Kang the Conqueror and thrown into the time stream, vanishing without a trace. In the future, countless people are waiting for you to emerge from the time stream to save the world."

Hearing Logan's words, Mister Fantastic's lips trembled, revealing an expression that confirmed his suspicions, while the Invisible Woman covered her mouth in disbelief, shocked that this was their fate.

"You heard that, Susan. Being ambushed by Kang the Conqueror and disappearing into the time stream—that's our fate. The process doesn't matter because the details won't affect the development of the timeline. That's why Logan was able to come here in the first place."

A wry smile appeared on Mister Fantastic's face.

"So, if I'm not mistaken, the key events are 'Kang the Conqueror defeating us' and 'us disappearing into the time stream.' Kang has already appeared, and now all that's left is for us to vanish into the time stream."

"That's right," Constantine nodded. "It doesn't matter which part of the time stream you disappear into; the important thing is that you can't stay here."

Boom, boom, boom—!!

At that moment, the sound of massive tremors echoed through the building, drawing everyone's attention. Looking at the monitors, the Invisible Woman gasped. "Oh no, it's Juggernaut and Rhino! They're breaking in!"

"It's time to go, you two."

As Constantine finished speaking, everyone sprang into action.

Mister Fantastic swiftly moved to his time sled, a time-traveling machine he had specifically designed for crossing timelines. However, his research on the concept of time was still in its early stages, and he didn't yet have much experience with time travel.

"Get on, everyone. The time sled has been fully calibrated. This should help us find the way back."

Without any hesitation, the others quickly climbed onto the time sled. Interestingly, the seats on the machine were exactly four—perfect for the Fantastic Four. Sadly, Human Torch and the Thing would remain behind forever.

"Reed, our child is still in the pocket dimension of 1999," Susan reminded, as she saw Mister Fantastic start the time sled.

"You're right. Hold on tight; we'll have to make an extra stop."

Mister Fantastic nodded firmly, then turned to look at HERBIE and said, "Activate the self-destruct sequence for the Baxter Building. You're staying here, HERBIE, to help Logan and the heroes from another world in the future."

(Acknowledged. Updating protocol. Initiating self-destruct sequence. Entering standby mode to survive the explosion and assist later.)

Upon hearing Mister Fantastic's command, HERBIE immediately curled up into a ball, knowing its task: to ensure the proper flow of the timeline. It would remain there for 45 years until Logan and Constantine returned to find it.

Immediately, the entire Baxter Building began to shake violently.

Juggernaut and Rhino, who had just burst into the building, were stunned by the sudden chaos.

"This is a trap! The Fantastic Four must be controlling the whole building!" Rhino screamed, but before he could regain his balance, a massive steel door weighing several tons came crashing down, slicing him in half. He died instantly.

Outside the building, Loki was also caught off guard by the strange events at the Baxter Building. He placed his hands on the rooftop, trying to steady the violently shaking structure. But in the next moment, a tremendous force erupted, sending Loki's gigantic figure flying.

The entire Baxter Building launched like a rocket, carrying Loki's massive hundred-meter-tall body into the sky, tracing a terrifying arc through the air.

With an earth-shattering crash, the Baxter Building came down, slamming into the ground with Loki underneath it. The devastating impact tore through Loki's abdomen. Feeling his life slipping away, Loki gritted his teeth in frustration before finally closing his eyes in resignation.

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
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