Has this universe already been invaded?
Frowning deeply, Alex couldn't confirm that.
After all, it was just a rift—like a door had been opened between two universes—but whether anyone had the ability to cross through it was another matter entirely.
In the material world, the law of conservation of matter is one of the most fundamental principles. Everything in existence abides by this rule, and even travel between parallel universes is no exception.
Back when Alex transferred people from the Apocalypse War to the Wasteland, he had to use every ounce of his power at the time. Even then, he needed the souls of Constantine and Zatanna to accomplish such a feat.
But here, in a world so barren of magic, who could have opened this forbidden gate?
As he watched the waiter return to the front desk, Alex turned to look at Petra. "Eat quickly. We might be busy soon."
Hearing that, Petra was stunned for a moment. Then she lowered her voice and asked, "My lord, do you have a lead?"
"Something like that. I can feel that something is wrong with this world. I'm afraid we're not the only ones who've come here," Alex replied half-truthfully.
"We're not the only ones?" Petra frowned. "You mean there are others here from different worlds besides us?"
Alex gave a slight nod but didn't answer.
"That's impossible, right? I mean, I'm not the best student, and I don't know much about parallel universes, but this kind of crossing… it's not exactly common, is it?" Petra murmured.
In her mind, parallel universes still belonged in the realm of theory and academic research. Honestly, if she hadn't seen Alex with her own eyes, Petra probably wouldn't have believed that parallel universes actually existed.
And now, she was standing in a different world—very much real.
"Of course, it's not common. And unstable crossings can cause serious damage to both universes. If it were so easy to travel between parallel universes, the world would've descended into chaos a long time ago," Alex said irritably.
"Then how…" Petra frowned further.
"That's what I want to find out. I haven't sensed any strong magical energy in this universe. If this was caused by someone casting a spell, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed," Alex said, rubbing his chin.
When she heard the word "magic," Petra's eyes flashed with surprise.
Although her universe had magic and wizards, their power was incredibly weak. Most of them were just ordinary people—and in terms of combat, even newly awakened mutants were stronger.
If not for that, those wizards and witches wouldn't have been wiped out completely by the Sentinel robots. If mutants could at least put up a fight against Sentinels, then wizards were basically throwing eggs at a stone.
Hearing Alex say that powerful magic could enable travel across parallel universes shocked Petra.
"You're saying someone used a method—even you don't know about—to 'sneak' in here?"
"That's one way to put it," Alex nodded slightly.
In his memory, the person most known for pulling beings from other universes into his own was Doctor Strange.
All it took was a mistake in one incantation to trigger a multiverse-level disaster. If it hadn't been for the quick reaction of the three Spider-Men and their timely resolution, countless heroes and villains from other universes might've flooded into the main movie universe.
Even the Scarlet Witch Wanda, wielder of chaos magic, couldn't open a true gateway across universes—she could only use the power of the Darkhold to travel via "dreamwalking."
From this, it was clear that possessing powerful magic alone wasn't enough to traverse universes—some specific rules were also required.
With that thought, Alex's expression grew even darker.
"My lord, do you already have someone in mind?" Petra asked softly, unable to resist after seeing the look on Alex's face.
"There are plenty of people capable of doing something like this—but I don't think it was any of them."
There were quite a few wanderers across the multiverse. And since this place technically counted as a cinematic universe, three particular suspects quickly came to Alex's mind.
First—Dark Strange.
As a being with multiverse-level power, even able to go toe-to-toe with Ultron wielding all six Infinity Stones, his combat strength was so overwhelming that opening a small multiversal portal would be nothing for him. In fact, destroying an entire universe would be just as easy.
Second—Deadpool.
That guy's existence was far too bizarre, and his time-traveling device was seriously overpowered. If it was him, accidentally ending up in this universe wouldn't be out of the question.
What's more, Miss Minutes had already sensed Deadpool's presence in this universe. If a Deadpool from another universe had shown up here earlier, that would match up with those reports.
As for the third suspect—it would be none other than America Chavez, also known as Miss America.
There were three generations of Miss America. The first and second were active during World War II and afterward. They weren't particularly powerful superheroes, at least not in terms of abilities. But the third generation was different.
America Chavez—a multiverse traveler with the power to open portals to other dimensions at will. She also had powers like flight, superhuman strength, and near-invulnerability.
If it was her, then it would be easy to slip past Alex's detection and bring others from different universes here.
Alex frowned. If he remembered correctly, America did indeed appear in the cinematic universe—alongside Doctor Strange in the battle against the Scarlet Witch, Wanda.
He also recalled a rumor circulating before his last crossing: that Deadpool 3 would connect directly to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In that story, Wanda would once again attack the Illuminati's universe, trying to seize and possess the two children of "herself."
That rumor had caused quite a stir. Some even claimed that after Wanda slaughtered the Illuminati in that universe, Magneto took over the world and established a new reality where mutants ruled over all others.
That kind of claim sounded obviously fake—but now, Alex couldn't be sure of what was real and what wasn't.
After a quick meal, Alex and Petra stepped out of the convenience store together.
Originally, Alex had planned to go directly in search of Charles. While epilepsy and Alzheimer's were difficult to cure in most universes, they wouldn't be much of a challenge for him.
If he could cure Professor X's illness, then perhaps he could obtain some deeper clues about this world from him—or at the very least, figure out the true purpose of the person who tricked him into coming here.
Alex didn't believe for a second that the other party had made no preparations. If they were able to lure him here, it meant they were definitely familiar with him—and knew exactly what his goals were.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have used "Deadpool" as bait.
But if they were trying to fish for him, then Alex was curious just how strong their fishing rod and line really were.
"My lord, what's our next move? I'll follow your lead," Petra said seriously, rolling her wrists and limbering up.
"Although I don't yet know who's targeting us, the fact that this is happening means it's aimed at us for sure. I've already located the position of the rift."
Alex turned his head and waved his hand, opening a glowing golden circular portal.
"Since they've already made their move, let's go pay them a visit."
In this universe, there was no Sanctum Sanctorum and no magical formations of any kind.
This meant Alex was basically unable to sense rift locations through magical energy alone. The position he locked onto had actually been located by Miss Minutes through a breach in the multiversal barrier.
Stepping through the portal, Alex immediately readied himself for battle.
Although the intruder likely wandered around like a headless chicken after arriving in this universe, there was still a chance they had remained in place.
Looking around, he found himself in an abandoned cathedral. The entire hall was vast and empty—the pews and altar had all been removed, and large patches of paint had peeled from the walls. It looked like the place hadn't been maintained for a very long time.
The rafters above were full of worm-eaten holes, and the air was thick with a damp, musty stench. It was hard to believe this place had ever been a church.
"This is where the outsider showed up?" Petra asked, curiously surveying the area. "Looks like no one's been here in ages."
"Don't let your guard down," Alex replied casually as he strode forward. "Things from other universes aren't always as friendly as I am. It's possible he's still lurking here."
"There's nothing here, though. Doesn't look like there's anywhere to hide."
Petra responded and quickly caught up with Alex.
Sensing faint disturbances in the air, Alex pushed open the door to the church's inner chamber. A moment later, a dark corridor appeared before them.
The narrow, pitch-black passage seemed to lead to the church's backyard, with several rooms on either side. But the place was in complete disrepair—the weak light revealed layers of dust on the floor, and some of the doors had even vanished entirely.
If this church were used as a horror movie set, they wouldn't need a props team at all. The atmosphere was already perfect. Adding props would only ruin it.
Yet faced with this eerie, chilling building, Alex didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He walked through it like a tourist on a casual stroll.
Petra didn't say a word to break the silence. She remained on alert, carefully following behind Alex and staying wary of the surroundings.
Several minutes later, Alex stopped in front of a public restroom door.
Staring into the dim bathroom, Alex spoke quietly.
"This should be the place."
......
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