"I didn't expect you to say such a thing." Main Universe Captain America turned his head and said, "Do you think the gap between ordinary people can let them win this war?"
"It's not about ordinary people." Main Universe Iron Man also turned back to continue looking at the blueprint, he said, "Any superhero born on Earth has the duty to protect Earth. But if Earth remains a baby needing our care, then we will always be stuck as nannies concerned with family trivialities within the Solar System.
"Whereas, compared to the Central Universe, their Earth is already an adult capable of walking independently, even a powerful warrior not needing superheroes to perpetually protect. So superheroes can do other things: expand their horizons to the Solar System or even the Milky Way, or engage in interstellar society diplomacy, cause trouble for the Three Great Empires.
"Not to mention anything else, isn't Loki in this universe behaving well? Why doesn't he invade Earth? Why doesn't he collude with the Kree? Without dealing with his invasion, I could spend large amounts of time researching how to develop Mercury, how to utilize Solar Energy more efficiently, how to manufacture a spaceship belonging to the human race, right?"
"You make a good point," Main Universe Captain America said, "but this isn't an overnight matter. The current fact is that we are overwhelmed by various invasions. Besides external troubles, there are also internal conflicts. Isn't Ultron a perfect example?"
"That's because we are trapped in a vicious cycle: disaster strikes, we respond, but only solve the surface problems without any root change, leading to certain disasters reoccurring. Like Loki's invasion, like scientists' creations going out of control, like Hydra."
"The issue is how to solve the problem at its root." Main Universe Captain America said, "I've fought Hydra for so long, and still can't completely eradicate them. Is it that I don't want to?"
"But we have a ready reference now," Main Universe Black Widow interjected, "why not research how the Central Universe solves these issues?"
"About Loki, I do know a little," Main Universe Thor shrugged, "the Loki from this universe found a job on Earth. Uh, though I think it's essentially fraud, but my brother says they established an interstellar financial platform."
"Pft, can you keep Loki calm on Earth for even two seconds?" Main Universe Captain America said with some disdain.
"So we need to subdue him first," Main Universe Iron Man said, "Of course, Thor, you absolutely can't go soft-hearted again."
"This isn't a matter of being soft-hearted. First, I can't catch him; second, even if I could, I can't imprison him, much less on Earth, or my parents might banish me from Asgard."
"So someone needs to persuade Odin," Main Universe Black Widow said, "so who can do that?"
Everyone fell silent. They weren't studying the differences between their universe and the Central Universe for the first time, but after researching, they'd always hit a wall: there are certain issues they can't solve with force, yet can't think of other solutions, so they're stuck.
Main Universe Thor scratched his head and said, "I can try to talk with the Father of All Gods, but if he calls Loki over to reprimand him, it might backfire. What if he goes crazy on Earth?"
"Then don't go," Main Universe Hawkeye urgently said, "The chaos caused by Ultron hasn't calmed yet, so at least don't have any surprises for now."
"There's also the issue of crazy scientists," Main Universe Captain America looked at Main Universe Iron Man and said, "It's really hard to imagine, you're actually the conservative among them. So how do we prevent your clever minds from coming up with ideas that might destroy the universe?"
"It's impossible to just limit our brain's speed because yours seldom think. But I think we need to find them something practical to do."
"The key is, what practical thing is there? Dr. Pym started doing practical things, didn't Ultron go out of control?"
"That's just what I'm saying," Main Universe Iron Man gently tapped the table, "In the Central Universe, Dr. Pym has been committed to space ships and cosmic machinery research, Pym particles are used for altering the size of large cosmic engineering equipment; as for Doctor Destruction, he's constantly researching Superluminal Engine. These are based on Central Universe's Earth heading towards the interstellar colonization era. Only when Earth expands can the crazy scientists have more appropriate things to match their talents. Stuck on Earth's small plot, researching things only the cosmos can accommodate, isn't it just making trouble for oneself?"
Main Universe Black Widow nodded and said, "Indeed. Actually, if Ultron attacked the Supreme Wisdom of the Kree directly, it would solve a major enemy for us."
"Then this turns into a deadlock," Main Universe Captain America spread his hands and said, "To let Earth expand, we must solve Earth's troubles; but solving Earth's troubles requires letting Earth expand."
"Central Universe must have faced such a deadlock too," Main Universe Iron Man asserted, "They must have found a critical breakthrough. Once the cycle is broken once, everything will go on track."
"Well said, where's the breakthrough then?"
Everyone fell silent.
The noise in the seats gradually grew. Clearly, the two pieces of news Strange brought back had spread, and everyone was discussing these two matters — of course, primarily about the unauthorized actions of Main Universe Doctor Strange.
The Guardians of the Galaxy being captured didn't really surprise them. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Without expectation, there would naturally be no disappointment. Most people across the universe knew the character of the Guardians of the Galaxy, some from other universes even thought it might be a good thing for Batman to capture them, at least it would prevent them from causing trouble within friendly forces.
As for whether to rescue them or not, everyone agreed: if they could exchange prisoners, then maybe they could be rescued; but if it required a fanfare and large effort, then perhaps it would be better to leave them in Batman's rear and let Batman witness just how unreliable the Guardians of the Galaxy could be.
However, regarding Main Universe Doctor Strange, everyone was furious. It was already enough that the mages suffered heavy losses because of him earlier, yet despite being told to stay in the rear, he took off on his own. If he were captured, whether to rescue him or not would be a significant loss.
Batman was fully aware of the importance of mages, and he definitely wouldn't allow a rescue operation to proceed smoothly. He might even set traps. Saving one person could cost an unknown number of lives. But if they didn't rescue him, it could affect morale and could lead to further disintegration of the mage team, severely weakening their energy advantage while fighting away from home.
As the discussion reached this point, everyone's gaze at the Main Universe group became a bit harsh. They were the ones who started the war, dragged everyone here from miles away to fight, only to fail first — is this the exemplary action of the Main Universe?
They say comparing yourself to others is deadly, and comparing goods leads to discarding. Look at the Main Universe next door, look at their Main Universe Batman. Though they didn't win the first battle, precisely because they didn't, it showcased their organizational strength — Apocalypse Star remained peaceful, with no internal quarrels nor unauthorized actions, which fully demonstrated the leadership capacity of Main Universe Batman.
And look at this lot here, Main Universe Doctor Strange shouted loudest, yet he was the first to defy orders — how can one aspire to be the leader of the Multiverse yet abandon the base to roam the universe?
The people from the Main Universe also felt a bit embarrassed. Main Universe Captain America covered his face with his shield and whispered, "Can anyone get in touch with Steven? Hurry up and call him back. If he gets captured, our reputation will be utterly ruined."
"No, we can't reach him at all," Main Universe Black Widow shook her head and said, "It feels like he wasn't this crazy before, maybe he's having an episode."
"I said that car accident knocked his brain loose, I told him to get extra check-ups, but he refused." Main Universe Iron Man whispered.
"Sorry, everyone. After a thorough check just now, I found that this runaway Doctor Strange perhaps experienced mental issues after confronting an isotopic death earlier, and I didn't detect it in time nor made adjustments, resulting in his loss of control and wandering off alone. The mutants will be responsible for retrieving him, so there's no need to worry." Professor X's voice appeared in everyone's mind.
It seemed the command center had been studying for a long time and came up with only this result. Everyone thought: Professor X didn't detect someone's psychological problem? This excuse couldn't be more flimsy.
Nonetheless, the mutants taking on this task did offer some relief, at least they didn't have to do it. But soon they found they exhaled too early because just as everyone was about to adjourn, God King Thor from the Central Universe arrived accompanied by a flash of white light.
"The Kree Empire and Skrull Empire have declared war on Asgard," Thor's voice echoed in the hall, "Preliminary estimates suggest Batman has allied with them in retaliation against the Nine Major Kingdoms.
"Previously, the Nine Major Kingdoms heavily damaged the main forces of the Three Great Empires, inflicting serious losses. This time, they want to settle the score."
Immediately, the room was filled with uproar. Main Universe Captain America quickly stood up and asked, "Have they already deployed troops against Asgard?!"
"Yes, so Asgard's army must return to defend immediately," God King Thor said, "But there's no need to worry, Queen Sif will lead my personal guard to stay here, which is the most elite unit of Asgard. Besides my brother, all Thor and Loki isotopes will also stay, without significantly weakening the defensive force."
Despite saying this, those familiar with Batman present knew this wouldn't be the end, but just the beginning. Once Batman acted, it was never a small skirmish, but always a heavy blow to his opponents.
As expected, Loki appeared behind Thor shortly after, whispering a few words to him. Thor's face immediately darkened. He seemed to be communicating with Charles in his mind.
"There's one more piece of news," Thor took a deep breath and said, "Batman seems to have utilized some spatial power to bring Thanos's Dark Quadrant back into our universe. Loki is working hard to stabilize him, but this move has revealed his ambition, and the possibility of him taking advantage of the situation cannot be ruled out."
At this, the entire meeting room was filled with heated discussions, the noise almost raising the ceiling. Yet bad news followed one after another, and just then Strange received a call, stood up from his seat, and said: "What?! The Eye Demon is approaching Earth??!!"