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For the first time, Kang faltered. The Multiversal Traversal Device was his greatest secret. In this realm, the only person he'd spoken to about it was Janet van Dyne.
"You… you know Janet?" Kang asked, eyes narrowing.
"I do. But that's not how I know about your machine," Nolan replied calmly.
Kang's expression hardened. "Then you've met… another version of me?"
A spark of suspicion and violence flickered in his gaze. The Traversal Device was the cornerstone of his power, and yet this so-called Sorcerer Supreme spoke of it so casually.
"I don't just know who you are," Nolan said evenly. "Even your ancestor serves under me."
"You mean Reed Richards?" Kang sneered. "Don't insult me. He's not my ancestor just a variant of the Richards bloodline in another universe."
"I'm aware," Nolan answered coolly. "But I didn't come here to debate your family tree. I came for one thing: your Multiversal Traversal Device."
Kang's armor pulsed faintly with chronal energy. Over countless jumps, his body had been altered by temporal radiation, but his true strength still relied on his advanced exo-suit. His technology was formidable, but incomplete and Nolan had found him at his weakest.
"Impossible," Kang spat. "That device is my key to reclaiming everything. You'll never have it."
Nolan's aura flared, psychic waves sweeping across the newly built city. Within seconds, he pinpointed the source of the strongest temporal energy.
Kang unleashed a barrage. "Neutrino missiles fire!"
Blazing beams lanced through the air, weapons powered by unstable neutrino bursts, each capable of leveling armies. Nolan simply opened a rift in space, swallowing the attack whole.
"Impressive toys," he remarked dryly.
Kang's lips curled into a snarl. "You wield the Space Stone's power…"
He recognized the spatial magic immediately. He had collected countless Infinity Stones in other universes, locking them away within the TVA to suppress their potency. To him, the Infinity Stones were impressive tools, but ultimately unnecessary compared to his own science.
But now, stripped of his empire's infrastructure, Kang was exposed.
Particles swarmed around him like a storm. Nolan raised an eyebrow. "These… remind me of Pym Particles."
He flicked his hand, gathering the swarm into his palm. Indeed, they carried the resonance of a pocket dimension. A crude cousin of Hank Pym's discovery can expand, but not compress.
"Interesting application," Nolan noted.
Kang's attacks had failed. His armor's systems strained. Finally, he exhaled and shifted strategy. "Sorcerer Supreme. I can give you the schematics of the Traversal Device. But the prototype stays with me."
Nolan shook his head. "No. I'll take the device itself. I don't need your notes Reed's methods are familiar enough. Reverse-engineering won't be an issue. Since you've been exiled here, you'll remain here."
At that moment, the centerpiece of Kang's city, a hovering chair-like construct, drifted into view. Sleek, radiant, and humming with chronal energy. The Multiversal Traversal Device.
Nolan's psychic senses poured into it, mapping every circuit, every stabilizer, every impossible component. Reed's fingerprints were everywhere in the design.
Kang's face twisted in agony. "No! That machine is my hope! My weapon against the Council of Kangs!"
"It's mine now," Nolan said flatly.
"You don't understand!" Kang roared. "The Council won't let this stand. They exiled me, yes but they won't allow my Traversal Device to fall into another's hands!"
Nolan's eyes glinted. "Then let them come. In this universe, at best, they can muster the power of skyfathers. I've faced gods before and I've never bowed. Besides… I'm curious about their technology."
A psychic surge struck Kang's mind. He convulsed, then slammed a hidden switch on his armor. His body seized violently. His soul was extinguished in an instant.
"He… killed himself?" Nolan frowned. "That was too easy."
No soul, no remnant. Kang was simply gone.
Nolan's thoughts sharpened. "No. He isn't finished. Not yet."
He recalled what he knew of the Quantum Realm its strange property of spawning infinite selves at decision points.
Even Scott Lang had seen it. Kang, with far greater mastery, could easily exploit it.
If one Kang chose to confront him, another could choose to hide. Two paths, two Kangs.
This death was only a mask. Somewhere, another Kang was waiting.
"No wonder he's slaughtered so many universes," Nolan murmured. "The bastard is cautious to the point of paranoia."
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