New York, the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Wanda lay quietly on the bed, looking like a sleeping beauty.
Ever since she returned from space with Homelander, she had been in this state of deep coma.
A layer of pale gold magic circles hovered above her body, slowly rotating and maintaining her bodily functions.
Nourished by magic, her body didn't need food, her muscles didn't atrophy, and her vital signs remained in a steady state.
The wooden door was gently pushed open, and Homelander and the Ancient One walked in.
"How is her condition?" Homelander asked with a frown.
The Sorcerer Ancient One gazed calmly at Wanda lying on the bed and said:
"There is nothing wrong with Wanda's body. But her Astral Form—the soul, as you understand it—has already left this shell."
"I can feel traces of Chaos Magic having spiraled out of control within her. This loss of control wasn't spontaneous; it seems more like it was forcibly induced by some external power."
"What's certain is that she isn't dead. It's just that her soul... its whereabouts are currently unknown. I can't even locate her in this dimension, much like when you first went missing."
"Is there a way to bring her back?" Homelander asked.
"I am working on a way, trying to find traces of her astral body in other dimensions. But this will take time. If there is any news, I will contact you immediately."
The Ancient One looked at Homelander and paused for a moment.
"But you must be mentally prepared, Anthony. We cannot rule out the worst-case scenario."
"Teacher, didn't you predict this situation in the timeline?" Homelander's tone carried a hint of questioning. "I don't believe you didn't look at the future development."
"Why didn't you stop her from going to space?"
The Ancient One was not angry, only sighing slightly.
"I couldn't see it."
"What do you mean?"
"I will be very frank with you, Anthony," the Ancient One said directly.
"For a period of time, I indeed regained the ability to observe the future. But from the moment you reappeared in this Universe, my ability to observe the future failed again. The future has once more become a mass of fog."
Homelander's mind raced.
Did that mean from the moment he returned from the DC Universe, the Ancient One already knew?
An awkward thought suddenly unfolded in Homelander's mind.
If the Ancient One had realized he had returned to this Universe long ago, then his entire act of lurking in the shadows, watching the Skrulls run amok, and finally jumping out at the most desperate moment for a 'perfectly timed salvation'...
Wouldn't this bald woman have known all along?!
Homelander only felt his cheeks burning slightly; a sense of shame from having his grandstanding seen through on the spot welled up in his heart.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he still forced himself to maintain his expression.
The Ancient One looked at Homelander's slightly stiff expression, as if seeing through his current inner turmoil.
"You don't need to be troubled by this, child," the Ancient One comforted him in a gentle tone.
"You are my best disciple."
"I have lived for centuries and seen many tragedies caused for the sake of justice, as well as many heroes despised for their unsavory methods. But in my eyes, the process and the means have never been the sole criteria for judging everything."
She reached out and gently patted Homelander's arm.
"I only know that in this world, I have never seen anyone like you who possesses such a strong and steadfast heart to protect."
"My child, no matter what decision you make, I will stand by your side and support your actions."
These words were spoken openly and sincerely.
It made even the heartless Homelander feel a trace of warmth called being moved.
He thought to himself that if she had a system, she would probably have already heard the prompt of him contributing special popularity value.
He set aside those messy thoughts and gave the Ancient One a sincere bow.
"Thank you, Teacher."
He turned his gaze back to Wanda lying on the bed. Combining the Ancient One's words just now, he vaguely guessed the truth of the matter.
Omega Beams, the power of Darkseid.
Aside from destruction, that stuff indeed had the potential function of knocking a target into other parallel Universes or endless dimensions.
It was possible that at the final moment, the Chaos Magic inside Wanda's body spontaneously protected her, and while it neutralized part of the damage, it unexpectedly triggered a Spatial Exile effect.
A trace of complex emotion flickered in Homelander's eyes.
"Please use every means possible to find her, Teacher. Whatever is needed, I will fully cooperate."
"I will."
Having received the Ancient One's affirmative answer, he didn't stay any longer and turned to leave the Sanctum Sanctorum.
...
The next day.
The top floor of Vought Tower, in the private suite of Homelander's office.
On that large and comfortable bed, two bodies were currently entangled.
"Bang!"
Jessica suddenly flipped over, pinning Homelander beneath her, her soft hair cascading over her snow-white shoulders.
"Fuck me, you bastard," Jessica bit Homelander's earlobe, her breathing heavy.
A second round in broad daylight—this was something unseen in the old Jessica.
Ever since the period when Homelander had disappeared in space, Jessica's emotions had been on the verge of suppression and collapse.
Now that Homelander was back, she urgently needed to confirm this man's existence through this most intense method.
However, because Homelander now had countless affairs to handle and occasions to attend every day, his time was extremely irregular.
So the battle time for the two was also not fixed; sometimes it was late at night, and sometimes it was like now, in broad daylight.
Just as the two were preparing to enter the next round of fierce combat—
"Click."
The suite door was pushed open directly from the outside.
No knocking, no announcement.
"Sir, there is an emergency situation that needs to be reported to you." Skynet walked to the bedside and stopped, her voice the same as usual.
Jessica was startled by this sudden intrusion.
Although she was usually bold in her style, being caught red-handed while doing the deed still made her face turn red instantly.
She gave a cry of surprise and, like a frightened ostrich, pulled the scattered quilt over and covered her head tightly.
But after hiding in the quilt for a few seconds, Jessica suddenly reacted.
Wait, that woman standing by the bed is just an AI! Why am I being shy with a robot?
Thinking of this, Jessica somewhat annoyedly threw off the quilt, glared at Skynet, then grabbed a bath towel to wrap around herself and leaned against the headboard, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Homelander, on the other hand, didn't care at all. He casually picked up a glass of water from the nightstand, took a sip, and looked at Skynet.
"Speak, what's so urgent?"
"It's a plea for help sent by the S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Agent Phil Coulson," Skynet reported. "Miss Skye has gone missing."
Hearing this name, Homelander's action of drinking water paused slightly.
"Missing?" Homelander put down the water glass, his brow furrowing slightly.