A fringe agent's secret visit, the new thing Lady Loki brought
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the White Bone Hall cut the strange light and shadow within the Dimension of Negative Zone into silent geometric shapes.
Lynn's gaze returned to the coordinates where the Audit Ship had last disappeared.
The air still held a lingering sense of relaxation, a feeling unique to the end of a war fought without gunfire. But this relaxation was very thin.
The signal disappeared for thirty seconds.
Gwen Stacy's voice was steady, as if she were repeating a routine technical report.
"In our surveillance network, a live signal disappeared and then reappeared out of nowhere. The location was right at the entrance of the boarding stairs."
Lynn did not turn around.
He looked at his reflection in the windowpane.
"Who?"
"Sylvie," Gwen Stacy pulled up the holographic image, "The deputy of Special Envoy Ravonna."
Lynn's knuckles tapped silently on the windowsill.
Thirty seconds.
This timeframe was neither too long nor too short. Not enough to complete a complex tactical sabotage operation, but sufficient to convey a brief message that one did not wish to be overheard by anyone.
That's enough to transform a person from a machine back into a living, breathing human being, enabling them to make their own choices.
"Perhaps it was a temporary signal jamming malfunction on her personal communication device," Gwen Stacy offered the most logical explanation.
Lynn turned around and looked at her.
"Liaison Office also think so?"
Gwen Stacy paused for a moment, then shook her head.
"It wasn't a glitch. The way she disappeared was more like a proactive, high-level form of self-concealment. She didn't want us to know what she did or who she met during those thirty seconds."
Just then, Lynn's Personal Terminal on his wrist emitted a very slight vibration.
It's not an alarm.
Instead, it was an internal notification from the underlying security system.
[C-7 Zone, Abandoned Physical Port 11, unauthorized power access detected.]
[Risk Level: Low.]
C-7 Zone was an area reserved in the early days of the Management Committee's establishment to accommodate equipment S.H.I.E.L.D. Remnants., but it has long been decommissioned and sealed off. It's like a huge data graveyard.
A forgotten corner.
A perfect blind spot for surveillance.
Lynn looked up and said to Gwen Stacy.
"Notify the Stability Maintenance Office that all nighttime patrols scheduled for tonight are temporarily cancelled."
A hint of surprise flashed in Gwen Stacy's eyes, but she didn't ask why.
"Yes."
Lynn walked alone towards the silent C-7 Zone.
The motion-sensor lights in the passageway turned on one by one with his steps, and then went out one by one behind him. The alternation of light and shadow made the path seem exceptionally long.
Deprecated physical port number 11.
The room was filled with dusty server racks, and the air was thick with the smell of aging metal and circuit boards.
A figure stood quietly in the shadow of the server rack.
She wasn't wearing the Audit Team's uniform, but rather a dark combat outfit that allowed for easy movement. Her hair was tied back, and her eyes were alert, like a cheetah ready to pounce or flee at any moment.
Sylvie.
"You've got some nerve." Lynn stopped ten steps away, his voice echoing in the empty server room, devoid of emotion.
Sylvie emerged from the shadows.
"Compared to sitting and waiting to die, this is nothing." Her voice carried a hint of hoarse mockery. "You should thank me. Without my reminder, your firewall would be a complete joke by now."
"So, you came here to collect a reward?"
"I'm here to make a deal," Sylvie said, her gaze sweeping over Lynn's face. "A deal that will allow us both to survive."
Lynn didn't speak, but simply made a "please" gesture.
Sylvie seemed very familiar with the area, and she led Lynn into a small Maintenance Room with energy shielding capabilities.
The door closed silently behind me, shutting me out of the outside world.
"Ravonna was an idiot," Sylvie began, her first words filled with undisguised contempt. "She thought until her death that she was cleaning up a mess for the higher-ups of the Coordination Committee."
Lynn pulled out a chair and sat down, listening quietly.
"She had no idea that the so-called Coordination Committee was nothing but an empty shell. The real manipulator behind it all was a shadowy figure."
Hill -Williams paused, then uttered a name.
"Time Variance Authority"
Lynn's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
He had only seen this name in the most Top Secret old S.H.I.E.L.D.. files and in the fragmented logs he brought back from the Battleworld. A legendary organization that transcends all Dimension and Timeline.
"More accurately, it's an extreme faction within TVA," Sylvie continued. "They believe that the existence of the Multiverse itself is a mistake and must be corrected. All unstable and uncontrollable variables must be eliminated."
She looked up at Lynn.
"And you, Director Lynn. In their files, you are the biggest variable."
Silence fell over the Maintenance Room.
The only sound was the low hum of the equipment running.
"This audit was never intended to be a simple accounting exercise from the beginning." Sylvie's voice, like a cold Blade, pierced through all pretense. "It was merely a probe. A comprehensive stress test targeting the Negative Zone Management Committee."
"They want to know your response, your technological Bastion, your power structure, and your trump cards."
"And you performed too well. So well that they were terrified."
Lynn finally spoke, his voice calm.
Why are you telling me all this?
A self-deprecating smile curved at the corners of Sylvie's lips.
"Because I am also a 'variable,' a 'mistake' they are eager to eliminate. If Ravonna's mission fails, I will be the next target to be silenced."
She stood up and paced a couple of steps in the cramped space.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." This statement applies to every universe.
She stopped, turned around and looked directly at Lynn, her eyes filled with a resolute determination.
"I need a safe haven. You need intelligence on TVA, and an ally who can help you create an opening from within."
"I am your only choice."
Lynn looked at her but didn't answer immediately.
He is evaluating.
Assess the truthfulness of this woman's words, evaluate the risks behind this deal, and understand what this unprecedented behemoth, TVA, truly means.
In the midst of this stagnant silence, a sudden change occurred.
A dangerously ominous red light suddenly shone from a device on Sylvie's wrist.
The light, as if imbued with life, danced across her skin.
All the expressions on Sylvie's face froze instantly. That feigned composure crumbled in a flash, replaced by a deep-seated terror, as if she had been targeted by her natural enemy.
Her body was taut like a fully drawn bow.
Lynn's gaze fell on the ominous red light.
What is that?
A dry, choking sound escaped Sylvie's throat.
"They've found me."
The red light began to flash rhythmically, each flash more rapid than the last.
"This is... Time Reset Marker." For the first time, her voice trembled uncontrollably.
"TVA's hounds have locked onto my coordinates."