With aliens residing on Earth, the Men in Black organization has stepped into a new phase, truly becoming the Earth department for managing alien affairs.
Anton power, to some extent, had further increased.
However, he wasn't particularly interested in this.
During a discussion with Z about the aliens residing on Earth, Anton suggested employing some aliens within the Men in Black organization.
This would not only ensure monitoring of these aliens but also minimize risks.
This idea was quite radical, and Z, after pondering for a moment, indicated he would discuss it separately with the World Security Council and carefully consider the proposal.
He had no expectations of Anton, the hands-off manager.
As Anton was about to leave, Z handed him a report on Jason Wynn.
"Since his transfer to the Men in Black, he has been very compliant, not seeming problematic."
Z was curious, "Are you sure he isn't a good guy?"
"No problem is the biggest problem," Anton replied, casually flipping through the report in his hand and seeing Jason Wynn resume, his smile slightly faded,
"You are one of the few who left the military special agencies unscathed, and you know better than I do, as a high-ranking officer of such agencies, none is clean."
Z, stunned by this remark, understood the implications behind Anton words.
"You're right," Z nodded. "I was mistaken."
"Alright, I don't need this report. As I said, keep an eye on Jason Wynn, and immediately report to me if he does anything unusual."
Anton added, "After today, I will regularly check my email, and there won't be any more incidents of me not replying to your messages."
"Let hope so," Z responded noncommittally, shrugging.
Time flew by quickly.
The Men in Black work with the aliens did not require Anton involvement he periodically checked the email updates from Z to keep fully informed.
Moreover, the movie Justice League vs. Avengers officially began production.
This project garnered huge attention right from its announcement.
From the name alone, the excitement and curiosity about what the movie would portray were palpable.
The Washington incident exposed Hydra, a spy organization lingering from the last century.
Hydra had managed to manipulate the Avengers, turning prominent superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America into puppets, not to mention the now widely scorned S.H.I.E.L.D.
After the incident, some details were revealed in articles by the Daily Bugle, though many specifics remained unknown.
Unsurprisingly, this movie, based on real events, satisfied both the public curiosity and their fascination with superheroes, causing a massive stir upon announcement.
Even Anton new movie couldn't make as big a splash, completely overshadowed by the announcement of this film.
Of course, for another segment of the audience, Anton upcoming movie was of the utmost interest.
These people had figured out the patterns of Anton, DC, or the Justice League.
Whenever a new Justice League member was introduced, it indicated that a new crisis was about to be managed.
Movies were merely a means of promoting new members.
"The Flash, Barry Allen."
At the Pentagon.
The Secretary of Defense, John Keller, sat in his office, reviewing a briefing on the Flash that had been passed up to him.
"The fastest man alive, capable even of surpassing the speed of light, traveling through time…"
"Time travel, does that really exist?"
John Keller was uncertain of the truth but harbored no doubts about Barry Allen existence.
The Justice League had repeatedly shattered people notions.
He had no reason to suspect that the Flash existence was just a ruse set up by the Justice League or Batman.
The big question now was, when would the Flash appear?
As John Keller and others knew of the Justice League.
Every time a new member of the Justice League appeared, it meant a new crisis was to be handled.
From Batman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Shazam, Constantine, and so forth, their timing had been impeccably precise they never missed any major events.
Undoubtedly, this was thanks to Batman unknown, behind-the-scenes intelligence network.
This time, it was very likely Batman had foreseen some special situation, so he planned to introduce a new member ahead of it.
"The fastest man… Faster than Pietro?"
Seeing the Flash, Barry Allen abilities, John Keller first thought went to the recently recruited enhanced individuals, Wanda and Pietro, who had joined the special forces.
These two were currently undergoing special military training, acquiring skills essential for soldiers.
The Flash abilities were similar to Quicksilver.
It should be exactly the same.
However, the data shows that The Flash speed can be so fast that he can travel through time.
Quicksilver can't do that.
"Since The Flash can do it, so can Quicksilver, but he just needs more training to fully develop his abilities," John Cleary mused.
Elsewhere.
A special forces team is training at a special facility somewhere in the United States.
Swoosh!
A silver streak is weaving through the desert.
Meanwhile, inside the base, scientists are gathering information from this silver streak, collecting enough data to proceed with the next steps of their research and analysis.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Minutes later, Quicksilver, panting heavily, returns to the base and asks the scientists testing his abilities, "How did it go? Did my speed improve?"
"175 miles per hour, congratulations, you're 15 miles per hour faster than the last test."
Someone shrugs: "However, it seems that this is your limit now. From the other data collected from your body, with sufficient energy reserves, you can maintain this average speed for about four hours before you need to slow down to replenish your energy stores."
"You should be able to develop more abilities, like using the speed generated by your legs to create enough airflow for short periods of flight... Of course, to achieve this, you need to further increase your speed."
At this point, several scientists exchange looks, and another adds, "Pietro, have you seen the news?"
"What news?"
Pietro is startled, then realizes, "Are you talking about The Flash?"
Despite the coverage of The Flash being overshadowed by the hype of Justice League vs. Avengers, the news still spread far and wide.
Such is the fame that DC Comics currently enjoys.
As one of the few companies backed by the Justice League, the attention to DC Comics, The Daily Planet, and even Wayne Enterprises has never waned.
"Correct."
The person nods, "According to the information we've extracted from stories released by DC Comics, The Flash speed is about 1200 miles per hour, almost Mach 2, about seven times yours, though this is just our estimate, The Flash normal speed..."
"Seven times... and that just the normal speed..."
Quicksilver is dumbfounded.
Although he doesn't need to guess to know that there is a vast difference in abilities between him and The Flash, he hadn't expected the gap to be so immense.
Just at normal speed, it already seven times his maximum speed, so what about The Flash abnormal speeds?
How fast could his maximum speed be?
"If it true, as the stories say, that The Flash top speed can surpass the speed of light, even reaching several times the speed of light, allowing him to travel through time at will, then he is almost like a deity, beyond human comprehension," the researcher said.
Seeing Quicksilver visibly upset, he reassured him, "Since your abilities are so similar to his, what he can do, you can also achieve. Right now, our priority is to get your speed up to Mach level, and we already have some ideas about that."
"What ideas?"
Quicksilver asked.
"By using isotopes to enhance your abilities, according to our estimates, if the upgrade is successful, your speed could increase to between Mach 4 and Mach 5. By then, even when facing The Flash, you would be able to compete with him," said the researcher.
"As for surpassing the speed of light, that simply beyond human comprehension. I believe that even The Flash cannot casually reach such speeds, so, you definitely have a chance to defeat him."
"Alright."
Quicksilver nodded. "Let get started then."
Besides Quicksilver, Wanda was also at a nearby training base, engaged in her own individual training.
Without the boost from the Mind Stone, she had only mastered chaos magic.
This specifically involved telekinetic control and altering reality.
The current Wanda had not even touched the edge of reality manipulation. Even in the original plot, it was only after the devastating events of the Endgame that Wanda developed the ability to alter reality, creating Westview.
Before this, Wanda powers were limited to telekinesis.
To train this ability, she had to continuously manipulate objects, increasing the challenge, and under various circumstances, train and adapt to multitasking or even using her mind in multiple ways simultaneously.
Her training was much more tedious than Quicksilver.
But Wanda found joy in it.
Such a life allowed her to feel the enhancement of her abilities in subtle ways and also provided her with a possibility for revenge.
During a break in her training.
She opened the tablet in her hand, saw news about Stark Industries, and media coverage on Tony Stark, and a cold smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
The current Tony Stark, despite having triumphed over Captain America, with Captain America disappearance being an open secret, had paid a significant price for it.
Under the relentless pressure from the military and government, he had no choice but to hand over crucial data on armor manufacturing and promised to supply the military with a staggering number of arc reactors to support their research on Iron Man armor.
This did not completely drain Tony resources, but it significantly limited his role with the military.
Once the U.S. government truly mastered the technology to manufacture Iron Man soldiers, Tony would be ruthlessly discarded, becoming a typical example of the government ungrateful behavior.
Tony understood this too.
But to preserve himself, he had no choice but to comply.
In Wanda view, this presented an opportunity for revenge for her and her brother.
As soon as the U.S. government fully mastered the technology to manufacture Iron Man soldiers, they could find some pretext to act against Tony, which wouldn't significantly impact the bigger picture.
The military would likely turn a blind eye, and might even provide some support on a certain level.
Meanwhile.
Far away in Los Angeles, Anton was busy with his own movie, oblivious and unconcerned about the various speculations and changes happening in the outside world.
The filming of The Flash movie was nearing its conclusion.
Once the movie was released, The Flash would reach the redemption standard, giving him yet another ace up his sleeve.
The Flash Fan Value: 31 million
Anton glanced at the system panel and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Having been in this world for so long, with the early accumulations, The Flash was no longer a blank slate hero.
Long before the Wonder Woman movie was prepared, The Flash TV show had already aired, capturing the first wave of fans.
Combined with the various works continuously released by DC Comics over two years, The Flash naturally attracted a substantial number of fans, pushing his fan value to 30 million, and now even reaching 31 million.
The redemption standard for The Flash was 50 million fan values.
After the movie release, capturing the remaining 19 million would be a piece of cake.
Anton had no worries about the effectiveness.
With the current attention on DC Comics and the Justice League, failure was not an option.
"Once The Flash is redeemed, I might try time travel... see if I can reach other timelines, or possibly break through the barriers of time and space to reach other worlds, worlds not part of the Marvel universe..."
Anton mused, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
With the power he currently wielded, he didn't have a strong need for The Flash.
Was The Flash strong?
Not particularly.
Was The Flash weak?
Certainly not. "To kill The Flash to please the heavens" wasn't just an empty phrase.
In essence, The Flash significance lay not in his combat ability but in his capacity to continually create storylines and manage settings.
Whenever a storyline couldn't be resolved, The Flash would sacrifice himself to restart the timeline.
This was precisely why Anton needed The Flash.
He wanted to see the landscapes of other timelines through The Flash, as well as to make a necessary attempt.
Could The Flash ability to travel through time and space allow him to visit other universes?
Universes not belonging to Marvel.
If The Flash could indeed achieve this, could he also return him to Earth, to the hometown in his memory...
Anton breathing quickened, his heart yearning.
Though accustomed to this world, who wouldn't want to return home to have a look?
"Speaking of which, the research at the sewer lab is also progressing..."
Anton thought again, the Hulk, Mr. Fantastic, the original Ant-Man, Doctor Lizard, these notable Marvel geniuses had been collaborating on time travel research for some time.
With the help of the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, Pym particles were no longer a rarity.
Presumably, it wouldn't be long before their research yielded new results.
He wondered whether their time travel research would align with The Flash method of time travel.
Anton was curious.