Seeing with your own eyes beats anything you hear. Now that President Loki knew there really was a way to leave the Void, he'd probably behave… for a while.
As for the future?
Heh.
Fenris wasn't He Who Remains with any sort of special affection for Loki.
Loki was just a tool.
One more didn't matter, one less wasn't a loss.
After all, what throne isn't built upon piles of bones?
Fenris ignored the visibly emotional President Loki and disappeared right in front of him, heading to the Fantastic Four universe.
Columbia University, inside a laboratory on campus.
Dressed in a white lab coat, hair a mess, and unshaven, Reed Richards stood at the workbench, laser-focused on repairing a critical part of the Time Controller under a magnifying lens.
His assistant, also his only assistant, Benjamin, stared at the Time Controller's screen with hopeful eyes.
Several days of near-sleepless work had left their eyes bloodshot and exhausted.
This was the moment. Success or failure would be decided now.
On the side of the lab sat a luxurious leather sofa that clearly didn't match the rest of the place.
Dressed in a crisp white suit, Emma Frost lounged elegantly, legs crossed, casually reading a book.
Whoosh!
From the corner of her eye, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
Emma immediately stood and set her book aside.
"You're back, sir."
Fenris was momentarily thrown off by how she addressed him.
Sir?
Did I just travel back to some Victorian drama?
He glanced at the book she had been reading. Sure enough. Five Thousand Years of Chinese History!
(T/N: I want to delete this part, but they're too long lol.)
Alright then. Just for your dedication to studying, you get a big thumbs-up from me.
Fenris chuckled, set his bag down, and picked up the book.
"Can you understand it?" he asked.
"I can read it, but I don't fully understand it," Emma replied.
Patting the book, Fenris said proudly, "This book really only tells one story."
"One story?" she echoed in surprise.
"Yes," he nodded.
Mighty China, guarded by the Dragon's soul.
This game of chess has lasted five thousand years.
Sometimes I fell asleep from exhaustion, only to wake and find someone had overturned my board.
But I always set it right again. Eventually, they would return to the table.
Because anyone who refused to play by the rules, I made them leave.
Or they simply vanished from the stage of history.
Just think: for thousands of years, one ongoing game. Repeatedly, I've played it hundreds of times.
I'm not tired of it. All I want is a worthy opponent.
Five thousand years ago, I faced floods with the ancient Egyptians.
Four thousand years ago, I admired bronze works like the Babylonians.
Three thousand years ago, I pondered philosophy like the Greeks.
Two thousand years ago, I marched in conquest like the Romans.
One thousand years ago, I lived in wealth like the Arabs.
And now, I compete with the Americans.
For five thousand years, I've remained in the world.
But across the chessboard, my opponents have changed time and again.
You ask me who I am?
Listen carefully.
I am China.
Fenris handed the book back to Emma, then turned toward Reed Richards and Benjamin, who were still hard at work.
"How's it going?" he asked.
"We should know very soon," Emma replied.
No sooner had she spoken than Benjamin, who had been holding his breath in anticipation, suddenly burst out in excitement, shaking Reed as he shouted:
"It's on! It's on! It lit up! Reed, we did it! We really did it!"
The display screen on the Time Controller was glowing.
Reed smiled faintly while carefully assembling the last components. He replied calmly:
"Don't celebrate just yet. We'll see if it passes the test."
"It will for sure," Benjamin said confidently, until he noticed Fenris nearby.
"Wait, when did you get here?"
"When you were yelling about how green it was," Fenris said dryly.
"I said 'lit up,' not 'green!'" Benjamin protested indignantly.
"Yeah, it is pretty bright," Fenris said, nodding seriously while staring at Benjamin's shiny bald head. "You've worked hard. Make sure to give your head a proper wash. It's oily."
"Life may have gone rough on you, but you've still got style. You're bald, but you've grown stronger."
"What the hell are you talking about? Just because you've got money, you think you're so great?"
Benjamin was a little dense and straightforward, but not stupid. He understood Fenris was teasing him.
"My bad. It's just that money is pretty great. It lets you do whatever you want."
Fenris raised a finger. The zipper on his backpack unzipped on its own, and a diamond ring floated out.
"Here, it's yours. If you ever get a girlfriend, use it to propose."
Benjamin stood frozen in shock. Even Reed, who had just finished assembling the Time Controller, was staring in disbelief.
Even Emma looked surprised.
"What are you all looking at me like that for? I can bring out a Time Controller, having superpowers doesn't seem that unbelievable, right?"
The Time Controller could still be explained by science. But superpowers?
How do you explain that with science?
How do you call that reasonable?
Well, it's a good thing that Reed and Benjamin hadn't yet encountered the solar storm that would turn them into Mr. Fantastic and The Thing. If they had, they'd probably say…
"Yeah, actually, that's totally reasonable!"