Interdimensional exploration of an abandoned branch, top-secret files brought back to light
The Nibelung smoothly emerged from the folds of the space jump.
The view outside the porthole was not the desolate and broken celestial debris that everyone had expected, but a magnificent ruin suspended in absolute nothingness.
It was a massive man-made structure, with a savage style unique to the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a blend of retro and futuristic elements. It resembled a dead Beast, its skeleton exposed, silently floating in the darkness.
"This is not a naturally formed Dimension fragment."
Gwen Stacy stood in front of the Control Console, looking at the structural analysis diagrams transmitted back by the sensors, her voice carrying a hint of solemnity.
"This is an abandoned TVA outpost."
Lynn did not accompany the team. After departure, in accordance with the Contingency Plan, the command of the Vanguard was temporarily assumed by Stability Maintenance Office Director Hela.
Hela didn't waste any time on the Bridge and immediately issued the landing order.
A small Landing Craft detached from the flagship, carrying five core members and an elite Undead Law Enforcement Unit, and slowly entered a huge structural breach in the branch office.
As the Landing Craft's hatch opened, a wave of stagnant, decaying air, seemingly sealed away for countless millennia, rushed out.
It's eerily quiet here.
Hela walked at the front, her military boots echoing hollowly on the dusty metal floor. Behind her, Wanda's fingertips were wreathed in a faint Scarlet magic, warily sensing the residual energy around her.
Jean's gaze, like an invisible Probe, swept across every inch of space, capturing the remaining spiritual imprints. Natasha and Gwen Stacy on either side, one observing the blind spots and tactical points in the environment, while the other looked down at the Data Pad comparing the branch office's architectural regulations.
They soon arrived at the heavy door of the Main Control Room.
The gate was sealed by Time Lock unique to TVA; the Runes had faded, but the structure remained intact.
"Director Gwen Stacy, analyze the unlocking protocol." Hela's tone was devoid of any emotion.
"Attempting," Gwen Stacy's fingers flew across the Data Pad, "The system here is too old; it will take time to establish a communication handshake..."
Before she could finish speaking, Hela impatiently stepped forward.
She reached out and placed her hand on the cold metal door.
There was no violent explosion, nor any blinding light. The black Death Force, like the most terrifying concentrated acid, spread silently. The alloy door, strong enough to withstand the explosion of a star, began to disintegrate and Oblivion inch by inch before everyone's eyes, starting from where Hela's palm touched, turning into the smallest particles and dissipating into the air.
Violent, but efficient.
Hela withdrew her hand, turned around and walked inside without looking back, demonstrating through her actions who was in charge of this field operation.
Wanda and Jean exchanged a glance, both seeing a restrained coldness in each other's eyes, before silently following her inside.
The scene inside the Main Control Room made everyone stop in their tracks.
The space was equally vast and empty, with countless long-dormant control panels surrounding it. But in the very center of the hall stood a row of Physical Archives cabinets that seemed out of place with the surrounding environment.
They are old-fashioned metal cabinets, with a simple and rustic style, covered with a thick layer of dust, yet miraculously well preserved.
In a TVA where everything is highly data-driven, Physical Archives are an anomaly in themselves.
"Something's not right." Gwen Stacy was the first to notice the problem. She walked quickly to a row of Archive Cabinet, and with her gloved hand, brushed the dust off one of the cabinet doors.
On the cabinet door, besides the Official Emblem, there was another symbol they were extremely familiar with— the S-rank Top Secret file seal of the Negative Zone Management Committee.
"This is impossible..." Gwen Stacy's voice was a little dry. "This sign was designed by the Director himself and was only put into use after our Management Committee was established. How could our Top Secret files be in a TVA branch that has been abandoned for countless years?"
One sentence brought the atmosphere to a freezing point.
Wanda's gaze suddenly sharpened. She could sense that the faint energy in the air, the same energy as that of Sokovia and Asgard, seemed to originate from these cabinets.
Qin's expression also changed. The immense spiritual Residual Echo she sensed, the extreme pain and despair, also pointed to this place.
Natasha calmly took a half step back, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her gun, taking in the entire room's exit and everyone's location.
This is a trap.
A scheme tailored to them using their own history.
Hela ignored the astonishment of the crowd. Her icy green eyes were fixed on the row of Archive Cabinet, as if she were scrutinizing a row of prisoners awaiting execution.
She strode over there.
Her steps eventually stopped in front of a Archive Cabinet in the middle.
Everyone followed her gaze.
On the drawer of that Archive Cabinet, there was a slightly yellowed bronze plaque with a line of text clearly etched in the official TVA font.
[Lynn - High-Risk Variant]
The air seemed to freeze completely at that moment.
All the suspicion, all the anger, all the resentment found an outlet the moment they saw this name.
Sokovia's silhouette, Asgard's lies, the Red Room's schemes... all the clues converge here.
Hela's chest heaved violently, then returned to a deathly calm.
She didn't speak, but slowly raised her hand.
The Night Sky Sword, that jet-black longsword symbolizing death and Ending, appeared silently in her hand.
The blade was devoid of any light, yet it was more dazzling than any other ray of light.
She raised her sword, the tip aimed at the keyhole of the Archive Cabinet engraved with the name "Lynn".