The restaurant was filled with uncertainty. Aside from Annie, who managed to remain calm, Frenchie, M.M., and the others couldn't help but feel tense.
Especially Hughie and his father—one was more timid than the other.
Hughie had grown considerably through the trials of the quiz game. He gave his father an apologetic look.
"Dad… I'm sorry. I've dragged you into this."
"Hughie, don't say that. I've seen the things you've done, and they're honestly pretty cool! I used to have dreams like that too, but… well, you know me. I could never pull it off. But you did, and I'm proud of you."
His father smiled warmly, offering a few words of comfort.
Clearly, while he might be timid, he was still a far more qualified parent than Annie's mother.
Drawing courage from his father's encouragement, Hughie stood up.
"I'll go see what I can find out." He was about to slip out invisibly to gather intel.
Annie gave him an awkward look, pointing toward the security cameras in every corner of the room. She suggested he shouldn't wander off.
"…Right." Hughie deflated.
Not long after, Diana pushed the door open and brought long-awaited news.
"If you're willing to leave here for another, unfamiliar world, start packing your things now. In the new world, your safety will be guaranteed."
"Leave? To another world?"
Frenchie, M.M., and the others exchanged puzzled glances. Hughie and his father were hesitant as well.
Annie, however, stood up without hesitation.
"Teacher, I'll go with you!"
She had completely lost hope in her own world.
Hughie thought for a moment before asking,
"The place we're going… is it the same world where Butcher's wife is?"
"No," Diana shook her head. "You can choose for yourselves. Some worlds have different levels of technology and history compared to here; others aren't too far off."
"But one thing's the same—each of those worlds has people like us protecting them. Once you're there, live quietly. If you can't handle that, I'd suggest you stay here."
That last line was aimed squarely at Frenchie. Based on his behavior in the future videos, it was hard to say he was simply a good guy.
She also explained that, officially, they were safe for now—but they could forget about going back to their old lives. Whatever they did, someone would be watching.
The Multiverse Defenders wanted to recruit new members. Diana had high hopes for Annie, and she was also inclined to bring in Hughie and M.M.—the latter's strong sense of family was a plus.
As for Frenchie, he was more of an afterthought. He was obviously a destabilizing factor and might not want to leave anyway.
Sure enough, after a brief explanation, Annie, Hughie, and M.M. agreed to go. Frenchie alone refused.
He claimed he couldn't bear to leave and, more importantly,
"Butcher still owes me money. I'm staying to collect."
Hughie hesitated but, after glancing at his father, couldn't bring himself to say, I'll stay too.
M.M. stared at Frenchie for a while before saying flatly,
"Watch yourself. Don't get yourself killed before Butcher even comes back."
The three of them—M.M., Frenchie, and Billy Butcher—had fought side by side before. Even if they didn't say it, both M.M. and Frenchie were worried about Butcher's situation after seeing the future videos.
When night fell, those who had decided to leave gathered their belongings and met in the conference room.
"Say your goodbyes to this world," Diana reminded them, arms folded. "You never know when—or if—you'll come back."
Hughie, Annie, and the others stood by the window, gazing at the sea of city lights in silence.
Finally, Bruce Wayne opened a dimensional portal and brought them to the Multiverse Defenders' headquarters.
At this point in time, the headquarters had been moved to the Marvel universe and would later be relocated to the DC universe.
These two worlds had many veteran members, plus two wealthy benefactors—Iron Man and Batman—so housing refugees was relatively easy.
The Marvel world's environment, technology, and atmosphere suited M.M., Hughie, and Annie's families well. They all decided to settle here.
Captain America called in Black Widow and Agent Coulson to act as tour guides, showing the newcomers around before finding them places to live. Only M.M.'s family went with them immediately.
After arranging for their families, both Annie and Hughie chose to stay with the Multiverse Defenders.
"Things are busy right now, so we're not throwing you a welcome party. Kid, deal with the disappointment."
Tony Stark led them on a quick tour of headquarters, giving a brief, whirlwind introduction to the organization's history and its members from different worlds.
Annie and Hughie exchanged amazed looks.
Before coming, they had imagined what the Multiverse Defenders might be like and guessed there would be many superheroes. But after seeing the reality, they realized their imaginations had been far too limited.
Prometheus, the organization's AI, used communication terminals and holographic projections to show them the Multiverse Defenders' origins across the multiverse.
Though it hadn't been established long, the organization already had a noble vision and purpose, spanning countless worlds and taking firm steps down a challenging path.
Hughie and Annie, still young, were easily swept up in the moment. The thought of being part of such a great cause left them both burning with excitement.
They immediately declared themselves ready to devote their efforts to saving the multiverse and asked for assignments.
See? That's why bosses love hiring fresh graduates—pure, eager, and ready to work themselves to the bone after a little pep talk, all for minimal cost.
Tony, while a big boss himself, was also Iron Man—not quite ruthless enough to exploit them completely. He smiled and patted Hughie on the shoulder.
"Kid, you're still immature. You'll need more training before you can take on missions. But… I do have a little problem that needs handling. You know the Seven from Vought are mostly here now, right? They're a handful—especially Homelander. The guy's trouble."
"We want to reform them, make them realize their mistakes. Of course, that sounds pretty much impossible, doesn't it? But hey—what can I say? We're all just a bunch of idiots who don't know when to quit."
Hughie was no fool. He immediately picked up on the subtext and stared wide-eyed.
"Mr. Stark… you're not asking me to manage those people, are you?"
_____
T/N:
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