Reigning Supreme in Every Reality

Under the temptation of eternal youth and everlasting beauty, Pepper didn't hesitate long before accepting Lyon's gift.

Then, wrapped in golden energy, she flew joyfully through the sky for half a day without tiring.

It wasn't until evening approached that she brought Tony along and flew back to Los Angeles.

As it turned out, Pepper's adaptability was indeed impressive.

Just like the last time she accepted Tony's serum enhancements. In just two nights, Pepper had already become familiar with the use of photon energy.

The price, however, was that Tony was left looking pale, with sunken eyes—like a battle-damaged version of himself.

Of course, the other cost was the mansion built on the Los Angeles seaside cliff.

In just two nights, the mansion had become a pile of ruins.

"You have no idea how crazy Pepper is now."

The next morning, Tony complained to Lyon over a holographic call.

"She actually wanted to fly through the clouds while hugging me—and wouldn't even let me wear my armor! I think we made a terrible decision, Lyon. Pepper, she… hey, hey! Stop! Lyon's still on the line, aren't you going to—"

"Come to mommy~!!"

"Oh! God! No!"

...

On Lyon's end of the projection—

The last image was of Tony being yanked out of frame by a glowing arm that suddenly appeared in view, followed promptly by the call being disconnected.

"…Well then." In the Brooklyn apartment, Lyon and Wanda exchanged a glance.

Wanda had come today to report her progress in chaos magic training.

Tony's sudden rant came abruptly—and ended just as abruptly.

The two sitting across from each other could vividly imagine the scene playing out thousands of kilometers away in Los Angeles—Tony's pained yet delighted expression.

"So uh," Lyon broke the silence, "they… probably went grape-picking. Grapes in L.A. have gotten a bit pricey lately."

Wanda stared at the blank projection, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I-I thought the same."

But clearly, that wasn't what she was really thinking. Because Lyon could clearly hear her heartbeat gradually quickening.

A few seconds of quiet passed between them.

Lyon glanced at Wanda's slightly dazed profile, then suddenly said, "Wanda, don't you think… grapes in New York have gotten more expensive too, these past few days?"

That perfectly timed atmosphere and synchronized heartbeats made him feel like he should do something.

"Huh?" Wanda didn't immediately catch Lyon's meaning.

But the moment she turned and met his gaze—!

That heartbeat, already accelerated by her thoughts of Tony's situation, suddenly skipped a beat.

"W-What do you mean?" she instinctively avoided his gaze, her expression dodging like a startled rabbit.

But the more she backed away, the closer Lyon leaned toward her.

As the distance between them shrank, Wanda became completely flustered.

She could even hear her own heartbeat—so fast it was affecting her breathing.

And Lyon could hear it too.

Those rapid beats laid bare Wanda's emotional state to him. His super hearing suddenly felt like a form of mind-reading in this moment.

He followed the rhythm of her heartbeat and leaned closer: "What I mean is, do you want to—"

"Ahhh, s-sorry!" Before Lyon could finish, Wanda suddenly shut her eyes and raised her voice to cut him off.

Her arms flailed about aimlessly, as if trying to push Lyon away—or maybe trying to chase away the thudding heartbeat altogether.

This girl, who usually carried a lingering air of melancholy—Suddenly came alive.

As if a part of her—some girl long since dead inside from hardship—was now resurrected, dragged up from a grave by the pounding of her heart, utterly unprepared to face something so sour, yet so sweet.

She stood up with her hands over her ears, a deep flush blooming on her pale face as she panicked and fled toward the door.

She even tripped over the sofa.

But after falling, she quickly scrambled up with her hair in disarray, stumbling as she continued to flee.

"I just remembered—it's my turn to cook today! I-I have to hurry back!"

Wanda's voice trailed off along with the sound of the door slamming shut behind her, and she even used Chaos Magic to accelerate her escape.

But her rapidly thudding heartbeat betrayed her flustered state every step of the way.

Even when she returned to her own apartment, her heart still hadn't calmed.

Lyon could still hear her throwing herself onto the bed, burying her head under the blanket, her hands forcefully yanking off her jeans' button and zipper, her rolling around while letting out muffled, incoherent noises.

His super hearing pieced together every one of those tiny sounds into a vivid, living image in his mind.

And then that image was abruptly cut off.

A barrier of Chaos Magic rose in irritation, blocking his hearing.

Clearly, Wanda had realized what was happening.

"Well... super hearing probably doesn't count as eavesdropping," Lyon muttered awkwardly, suppressing his ability.

...

The next day, Tony continued in a state of painful bliss, Pepper remained thoroughly delighted—While the now powerless Captain Marvel remained trapped in the depths of despair.

Her suffering was multifaceted.

The day after she was handed over to the United Nations, Carol underwent a public trial.

Ordinarily, the International Court takes considerable time to prepare for such cases—some trials can last an entire year.

But Carol's act of colluding with the enemy and betraying Earth granted her an expedited timeline.

Tony submitted a complete chain of evidence that same day, and with unanimous approval from all court members, the trial commenced the next day.

The entire judicial process was broadcast live.

Under the watchful eyes of all humanity, Carol was found guilty of severely endangering human safety and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

That very day, she was transferred to the Raft prison.

On the way there, every time she appeared in public, she was surrounded by countless hateful glares.

Among the crowd, from adults to children, there wasn't a single person who didn't look at her with eyes full of fury.

She even endured two assassination attempts during the handover.

The assailants had emerged from within law enforcement.

One opened fire with a gun, saying, "They kept me inside an underground bunker for 2 years while impersonating me. They even divorced my wife and.." He trailed off.

The other got close and stabbed her with a knife. "They killed my wife and impersonated her while I didn't even know my wife was dead—You! And you were taking their side!"

Before Carol even arrived at the prison, she was already seriously injured.

In the end, she had to be temporarily transferred to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

But to avoid further complications, once it was confirmed her life was no longer in danger, the escort team set out again.

By the time Carol was imprisoned in the Raft, she was already on the verge of death.

Yet the physical pain was the least of her suffering.

Being met with the hatred of the entire world along the way, the pressure she faced had long since pushed her spirit to the edge of collapse.

Carol appeared dazed.

The once-beautiful homeland now felt like hell to her.

The whole world seemed to have turned against her—everyone hated her.

Upon entering the prison, she encountered Nick Fury, an old friend confined in a transparent cell.

The moment she saw him, and he saw her, Carol became emotional, thinking at least one friend still stood by her.

But to her surprise, Nick Fury immediately rushed up and slammed his fists against the transparent wall.

"Carol! How could you let those Super Skrulls escape? How could you do that?!"

Nick Fury's eyes were bloodshot. He believed it was Carol's interference that distracted Superman, which ultimately allowed the most dangerous Super Skrulls to get away.

"Nick… no, I… I just…" Carol choked, unable to speak.

She never imagined that even her last old friend would now question her.

At that moment, Carol truly felt as if her world had collapsed.

Even the air she breathed seemed filled with the world's malice toward her.

The immense shock made her head spin.

Her lips trembled, and darkness consumed her vision—she completely lost consciousness.

When she woke again, she had already been locked inside a transparent cell.

The guards around her looked at her with the same loathing and hatred.

It was said that the moment she was sentenced to imprisonment in the Raft, the prison's application system for guards was immediately overwhelmed and crashed by a flood of applicants.

Now, more than half of the Raft's guards were people who had been harmed by the Skrulls or were relatives of those who had been.

They watched her closely.

Even without any extra actions, their eyes clearly conveyed one thing—that all the pain inflicted by the Skrulls would be blamed entirely on her.

Carol curled up, trembling like a wounded beast, and finally couldn't help but question herself—what exactly had she done wrong to get all this hate?

______

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