Perhaps because he knew Deathstroke was watching, or perhaps because he had always been confident in himself, Little Rich came out swinging. Not only did he break the Record Keeper's hold on Star-Lord, he immediately unleashed his powers, locking down the surrounding time and space as though he intended to shut the door and beat the dog.
He might have been young, but this universe judged strength, not age.
Arcturus seemed to have fallen still. Everyone except the few of them had been paused—the pedestrians on the street, the ships in the sky, the drifting dust, all frozen in place. Even Eagle God within the distant star seemed to be no exception.
Yet Fire Skull had not been locked down by time and space. The Record Keeper was still looking around, examining changes invisible to the naked eye, as though he had never seen such a thing before but found it fascinating.
Little Rich narrowed his eyes. After casually ruffling his watermelon-rind hairstyle with one small hand, he asked:
"What are you? Why did you come to Earth-40K?"
"I am the Record Keeper, one who witnesses the destruction of universes and learns from it." The outsider was highly cooperative, at least in that he made no further attempt to attack. Instead, he said, "Hello. I can sense that you were originally destined to be a savior, but why did that change? Can you tell me?"
He seemed brimming with curiosity, completely disregarding the atmosphere as he asked whatever he pleased.
Franklin did not dislike such a strange creature. The boy himself enjoyed researching and observing everything, drawing conclusions about the patterns within them. It was like a scientist's instinct.
But not disliking him was one thing; his quiet intrusion into the 40K Universe was another.
"We both have questions to