"So, you're really willing to send us back?"
The Black Phoenix spoke with a teasing tone. After hearing Karl's words, she walked over without hesitation and sat directly on his lap. Her eyes carried completely undisguised affection.
May and the others watched the scene with amused smiles.
"Of course I'm reluctant," Karl replied with a faint grin.
"I'd rather tie you all up and drag you back myself."
As he spoke, he casually wrapped an arm around the Black Phoenix's waist before turning his attention toward Great Wanda.
"Tell me exactly what happened inside the Quantum Channel. From what we know, the Quantum Realm should only allow travel through time, not between universes. So how did you end up here?"
"I don't know either."
Great Wanda rolled her eyes at Karl, especially after seeing him holding a mature woman with long red hair and black stockings.
"When I was traveling through the Quantum Channel, I suddenly encountered something that looked like a black hole."
"I couldn't resist its pull. I was dragged straight into it."
"And when I woke up…"
"I was already on Earth."
She paused slightly.
"But it didn't take long for me to realize that this wasn't my Earth."
"That's when I understood that I might have crossed into another universe."
"So it really was an accident."
Karl nodded thoughtfully.
"What do you plan to do now? Try to find a way back?"
He shook his head slightly.
"Tony hasn't even begun researching that technology yet in this universe."
"A time machine based on quantum mechanics simply doesn't exist here."
Both of them understood the problem.
Even if Tony eventually developed such technology, it would only allow time travel within a timeline.
Traveling between universes was an entirely different concept.
But Karl had another suspicion.
He believed that Wanda's arrival here might not have been an accident at all.
Instead—
It might have been intentional.
If someone had deliberately sent Wanda across universes, there was only one possible suspect.
Chthon.
The ancient Elder God of Chaos Magic.
After all, Wanda's chaos magic originated from Chthon himself.
Karl had already noticed something during their earlier battle.
Although Wanda possessed immense raw power, her control over Chaos Magic was still extremely crude.
Compared to Karl's mastery of sorcery learned from Kamar-Taj, her control was far less refined.
At her current level, she shouldn't be capable of crossing universes through Chaos Magic alone.
Furthermore, the structure of her universe made such travel even more difficult.
If someone truly had the power to force Wanda across dimensions—
It could only be Chthon, the source of Chaos Magic itself.
But Karl couldn't understand the reason behind it.
Why would Chthon send Great Wanda to this universe?
"Karl…"
Little Wanda walked over quietly.
"How about letting her stay here for a while?"
She looked toward her older self.
"I want to talk to her… about the fate Pietro and I were supposed to have."
Even Pietro looked at Karl expectantly.
"That depends on whether she wants to stay."
Karl casually ruffled Wanda's golden hair.
"If she's willing, the manor certainly won't run out of food."
After hearing Karl's approval, Little Wanda turned toward Great Wanda with wide, watery eyes.
Great Wanda instantly felt awkward.
Being stared at like that by her younger self was an extremely strange feeling.
In the end, she could only sigh.
"Fine."
"I'll stay for a while."
Meanwhile, Karl's side remained relatively peaceful.
But outside—
The situation was completely different.
Public opposition toward the Avengers was growing stronger.
Many citizens were now openly demanding that the Avengers and other superheroes leave New York.
Large protests began appearing across the streets.
One Black mother even publicly accused Tony Stark and the Avengers of causing her son's death during the Sokovia incident.
She tearfully declared that her son had just graduated from college.
He was only in his early twenties.
He had a bright future ahead of him—
And now he was dead.
The government was placed under enormous pressure.
On one side, they feared Karl's influence because of his connection with several Avengers.
On the other hand, they could not ignore the public outrage.
Eventually, the President of the United States personally visited Karl's estate to seek his opinion.
After all, the protests were beginning to disrupt the normal functioning of New York City.
In the end, Karl simply told him one thing.
"The Avengers have nothing to do with me."
The President immediately understood the meaning behind those words.
The Avengers as an organization were independent.
However, some individuals within the team still had personal connections with Karl.
At the same time, Karl had made his stance clear.
He had no intention of interfering in Earth's political matters.
After leaving the manor, the President returned directly to the White House and convened an emergency meeting.
Congressmen, military generals, judges, and several government organizations all attended.
The topic was simple.
How should they deal with the Avengers?
During this period, Tony contacted Karl several times.
But not because of the conflict between the Avengers and the government.
Instead—
Tony had something much more personal to discuss.
He was planning to marry Pepper.
Karl naturally agreed and said that everyone from the manor would attend the wedding.
Even Karl himself hadn't expected Tony to marry so suddenly.
Perhaps it was because Howard Stark and Maria Stark had been constantly urging him.
Ever since the two of them returned, Tony's position within the family had fallen dramatically.
Howard and Maria always sided with Pepper.
No matter what happened, they supported her.
Tony's opinions were practically ignored.
Meanwhile, Karl traveled to his island base.
Yan was still there.
She remained completely absorbed in constructing the core of the warship, barely even acknowledging Karl's arrival.
Karl could only helplessly inspect the warship for a while before leaving again.
At the same time, he used the power of the Six Infinity Stones to activate the treasure map related to the Self Stone.
Through the stones' power, Karl finally learned the true location of the Self Stone.
However, he did not immediately set out to retrieve it.
Because something else had already happened.
Just like in the original timeline—
The Avengers experienced a civil war.
This time, the conflict was caused by a disagreement between Tony Stark and Peggy Carter.
The government once again attempted to force the Avengers to sign a regulatory agreement.
However, because of Karl's existence, the terms were not as extreme as those in the original timeline.
Even so—
Carter, Clint Barton, and Bruce Banner all refused to sign.
As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Carter clearly understood the government's true intentions.
She would never allow such a powerful force to be completely controlled by political authorities.
Otherwise, the world might once again descend into war.
Carter also understood Karl's position.
Karl chose to ignore the entire matter because he did not belong to Earth's system of rules.
No one dared to ask Karl to sign any agreement.
Without Karl intervening—
The conflict ended very quickly.
Tony Stark and James Rhodes were easily defeated.
By the Hulk alone.
This time, Tony did not use the massive vibranium armor he had previously built.
Even if he had used it, the result would likely have been the same.
After all—
The Hulk only becomes stronger the angrier he gets.
Tony suffered severe shock from the battle even while inside his armor.
Afterward, Clint Barton officially announced his retirement.
He left the Avengers and returned home to spend time with his children.
Bruce Banner eventually moved to Karl's manor.
The estate gained a new gardener.
Many people who should have appeared in the original timeline never showed up at all.
Tony never mentioned the Avengers again.
It was as if the entire organization had simply disbanded.
However—
Tony still refused to sign the government agreement.
And the government could do nothing about it.
After all, the Avengers themselves were already on the verge of collapse.
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