Valeria never imagined she would one day be so humiliated.
Thor grabbed her by the collar with one hand and Reed with the other, and the two of them were dragged along the main corridor of the Watchtower.
The metal floor made a slight creaking sound underfoot, and the cold white light overhead cast long shadows of the three people.
She tried to struggle.
It's useless.
Thor's hands were like iron clamps; every time she moved, his fingers tightened, and the collar of his shirt made her neck ache.
It's over.
Those two words were all she could think of.
It wasn't because the research was halted—she had already mentally reviewed the improved plan for that nano-neural bridging technology three times; she could simply go back, change the project name, and continue working on it.
What truly made her want to disappear into the ground was this current position.
A seventeen-year-old prodigy was dragged around like a chick.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
Valeria's body froze instantly.
Three figures appeared around the corner: Wally the Flash, John the Green Lantern, and J'onn the Martian Manhunter.
She recognized them; she had seen these Justice League members during her time at the Watchtower, and had even discussed technical issues with a few of them.
Now?
Now she wished she could bury her face in the floor.
Wally saw them and paused.
He opened his mouth, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Thor, Reed, and Valeria, but in the end, he swallowed back what he wanted to say, simply nodded to Thor, and then quickly walked past him.
John's expression became more serious. He stopped in place, crossed his arms, and stared at Thor with a typical military scrutinizing gaze for a few seconds before his gaze fell on Valeria.
Valeria lowered her head.
She heard John give a soft hum, and then he left too.
J'onn was the last one. Martian Manhunter said nothing, only glanced at them with his deep red eyes, and silently drifted past them.
The corridor fell silent again.
Valeria felt her face burning.
She quickly calculated in her mind that from the lab to the rest area where Emma Frost and Betsy were, she would have to pass through three main corridors, two intersections, and at least five areas where she might encounter other heroes.
She wanted to die.
Thor continued walking forward, his steps steady and his strength even, as if he were dragging two sacks of potatoes.
Reed, on the other hand, was very quiet.
As he was being dragged away, he still wore that standard thoughtful expression on his face, his brows slightly furrowed and his gaze unfocused, clearly thinking about something else.
Valeria knew what he was thinking—he was probably going over that damned gene chain stabilization scheme in his head again.
That's how her dad is; he can keep doing scientific research even when he's being dragged along.
Another corner.
This time it's Wonder Woman.
Diana stood in the middle of the corridor, holding a report in her hand, talking to a staff member next to her.
She saw Thor, paused for a moment, and then her gaze fell on the father and daughter being dragged along.
Valeria saw Diana raise her eyebrows.
" Thor?" Wonder Woman spoke, her voice filled with obvious doubt.
"We'll talk later." Thor's tone was flat; he didn't even turn his head, simply dragging Diana past him.
Diana didn't ask any more questions. She just watched Thor's retreating figure, then glanced at Valeria and Reed, shook her head, and continued talking to the staff.
Valeria closed her eyes.
She vowed that the first thing she would do when she got back was to hack into the Watchtower's surveillance system and delete all the footage from today.
wrong.
Deleting it won't help.
Those people all saw it.
She silently cursed under her breath.
Thor finally stopped.
Valeria opened her eyes and found that they had arrived at the entrance to the rest area.
Emma Frost and Betsy stood inside, their expressions somewhat subtle.
Emma Frost's lips twitched as she looked at the father and daughter being carried by Thor.
Betsy remained expressionless, but her gaze lingered on Valeria for a second.
Thor released his grip.
Valeria's feet touched the ground again, and she immediately took two steps back, rubbing her neck vigorously.
The marks from her collar were still there, and she could feel the burning sensation on her skin.
Reed straightened up, straightened his clothes, and pushed up glasses that weren't actually on his nose.
Thor ignored them and looked directly at Emma Frost and Betsy.
"Do you know what those two were doing in the lab just now?" His tone was calm, but Emma Frost could tell that he was still holding back his anger.
"I don't know," Emma Frost said, "But judging from your expression, it's definitely not good news."
" Doomsday," Thor said, " Amazo."
Betsy's eyes changed.
Emma Frost's expression froze.
"They want to combine the two," Thor continued, "To use some kind of nano-neural bridging technology to create a monster that can replicate all abilities, is unkillable, and can keep evolving."
Emma Frost was silent for a few seconds.
"Are they crazy?" she asked in a low voice.
"I'd like to know too," Thor said.
Valeria opened her mouth, about to explain, Emma Frost spoke first.
"I know about Doomsday." Her tone was cold. "Even Superman was killed by that thing. I also know about Amazo; it copied the entire Justice League's abilities and almost destroyed the Earth."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Reed and Valeria.
"Are you saying the universe isn't chaotic enough already?"
Reed wanted to speak.
"Shut up," Emma Frost interrupted him. "I don't want to hear your explanation."
She turned to Thor.
What are your plans to do?
Thor raised his hand, and a blue spatial rift tore open in the air, revealing the familiar landscape of the Void behind Knowhere.
"Send them back," he said. " Reed, get him back to his own universe as soon as possible, don't let him stay in the Knowhere. Valeria, have someone watch over her for a month, and don't let her into the lab."
Valeria's eyes widened.
"A month?! Are you serious, Thor?!"
"Not enough?" Thor turned to look at her. "Then two months will do."
Valeria immediately shut up.
Emma Frost nodded.
"Okay," she said. " Betsy and I will go back and make arrangements first. Have you decided who will look after this little girl?"
"I've made up my mind," Thor said. "Take it with you later."
Emma Frost didn't ask any more questions. She glanced at Betsy, and the two of them walked directly into the portal.
Susan took Valeria's hand and followed behind.
Reed was the last one. Before leaving, he looked back at Thor, opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing, and turned to walk into the portal.
The blue crack closed and disappeared into the air.
The corridor fell silent again.
Thor stood there, rubbing his temples.
He really felt a headache coming on.
Thankfully, he got back early; if he had been any later, he didn't even want to think what might have happened.
He turned and walked towards the Justice League meeting room.
The Watchtower's conference center was at the end of the main corridor, behind a heavy metal door. Thor walked to the door, and it opened automatically.
There were six people inside.
Batman sat in the main seat, his hands crossed on the table.
Superman sat quietly in his seat, his face bearing that familiar, gentle, and sunny smile.
Wonder Woman stood by the window, still holding the report she had just seen.
The Flash Wally, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Green Lantern John sat in a chair, his expression serious, Martian Manhunter J'onn stood in the corner, his red eyes fixed on the holographic projection.
All six people turned to look at the doorway at the same time.
Thor went in and spoke directly.
"I went to another universe and brought back some Justice League survivors." His tone was flat. "Do you need any?"
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Clark was the first to react.
"What?"