Shadow of the Beautiful World

Ah, the good times are always so short.

Merlin walked out of the darkness, looking at Steve who fell to the ground in front of him, and Ms. Carter standing beside him. The level 9 agent pretended to wipe away his tears, and said softly:

You girls who are pursued, sought after, and liked by others are really vicious. You just casually hurt the heart of an innocent boy. Even an outsider like me finds it cruel, Ms. Carter...You treat Steve like this Is it really good?

Stop being sarcastic, Merlin.

Ms. Carter leaned on her cane, and she said to Merlin:

You nasty little guy, come and help him up, don't you want me, an old woman, to do this kind of hard work?

Old lady?

Merlin sneered:

Don't be kidding. When you danced just now, you were more flexible than a 20-year-old girl. The serious illness and aging appearance before were all fakes, right? Ms. Carter, you really deserve to be the queen of secret agents. ah.

Don't be so hard on a lady, Merlin.

Old Steve also came out of the darkness with a cigar in his mouth. He grabbed the other unconscious self on the ground with one hand, and put Steve on the chair. He stood beside Ms. Carter, looked at Merlin, and said:

Don't accuse us in such a bad tone. After all, we didn't do anything bad to you, did we? On the contrary, we have been helping you.

All right.

Merlin shrugged. He sat on a chair, looked at the old couple in front of him, and said:

Where have you been all these years? You just left Sharon to me like that. Although that girl didn't say anything on the surface, she has been looking for you all these years.

Aren't you the same?

Ms. Carter said dissatisfiedly:

In England, you almost caught us. You know, an emergency move is a terrible thing for a 90-year-old.

I just have a lot of questions.

Merlin says:

Once the question is not answered, it will be very uncomfortable, like a cat's claw scratching in the heart. I can't help but want to find the answer. Can I get the answer today?

It depends on the question you ask.

Old Steve spread his hands, and he said to Merlin:

To your first question, I can tell you that we have been doing our work in time.

Work?

Merlin blinked:

What kind of job?

Same as what you do, protect, fight back, monitor, whatever.

Ms Carter did not wish to dwell too much on the issue, saying:

Every node of the time flow needs to be protected. Once time collapses, it will trigger a very bad chain reaction. You can think of us as agents on the time flow, although no one pays us.

Okay, that sounds pretty good.

Merlin's fingers twitched. Although he was very interested, he didn't continue to ask this question, but changed the topic to another side.

My second question...Howard Stark is not dead, he is also one of your colleagues, right?

You're really sharp, Merlin.

Ms. Carter sighed and said:

You are really suitable for this job. Yes, he didn't die, at least not the kind of death you understand, and maintaining the order in time requires superb wisdom, which is why Howard joined us. But I hope you don't take this news Tell Tony Stark that kid isn't mature enough to deal with things like this.

My mouth has always been very strict.

Merlin stretched out his hand and made a zipper movement around his mouth. He stretched out his hand and pushed his glasses. He looked at the two people in front of him and asked again:

The third question, do you know Ms. Cassandra? And Geralt and Yennefer, the Silia who always runs around and sees no one...

Yes, we know each other.

Ms. Carter answered frankly:

Even the tower where your little girlfriend lives was helped by us. I know what you want to ask, and I can tell you that we belong to the same organization, but there are no more factional disputes...we We came together for the same purpose.”

Oh, the secret organization, it sounds very powerful.

Merlin nodded. He seemed to have got the information he wanted, so he stopped asking.

Judging from the previous communication with Geralt and Cassandra, the members of this secret organization are tight-lipped, and Cassandra has made it clear that as long as Merlin can complete the rebuilding of the Brotherhood, she will introduce Merlin to join in that organization.

Although, Merlin wasn't very interested in that.

The conversation between the two sides fell into silence. After a dozen seconds, Ms. Carter said:

If you have no other questions, then we're leaving.

etc.

Merlin raised his head and said:

Tell me how to find Hank Pym? The phone number you gave me has never been called.

That means he doesn't want to see you, Merlin.

Ms Carter said:

Hank Pym is very talented, but his personality is really bad. Even now he has become an old man, but he is more stubborn than when he was young.

You want me to tell you where Pym is, but unfortunately, I can't find him either, he is too good at hiding himself, and he also has that ability, if he doesn't want to be found, it will be difficult for others to find Something about him.

She looked at Merlin, and she said:

You're looking for Pim, probably because of that poor girl Ava?

Merlin nodded.

The time for Ava to disappear into the quantum sea is getting closer and closer. In the past few months, Dr. Foster has been trying to modify the quantum restraint device on Ava, but with little success.

The tragic loss of a child is about to happen. Poor Ava will be alone in exile in another unpredictable world. I can't turn a blind eye to this. I want to stop it.

Merlin looked at Ms. Carter and old Steve seriously, and said:

If you also claim to be in the cause of saving and protecting, then I think you should help me.

I really can't find Pym, Merlin, I didn't lie to you.

Ms. Carter sighed, she hesitated for a moment, and said to Merlin:

But... maybe there's someone who might be able to help you.

who?

Merlin narrowed his eyes, and then heard Ms. Carter say:

Hope Van Dyne, the current chief assistant of the Pym Technology Laboratory.

swish

Icarus projected Hope Van Dyne's information onto Merlin's lens at a fast speed.

It was a very young girl with short black hair and beautiful black eyes. She looked only in her 20s, but she had a serious expression, a standard iceberg beauty.

Icarus didn't find any particularly useful information on the Internet, but Merlin looked at the photo of the black-haired beauty on the lens. He compared the age of this girl with Pim Hank in his heart, and then said to Ms. Carter :

This girl's personal information has been covered up and tampered with. It should be done by S.H.I.E.L.D. This is Dr. Pym's relative? I guess it's her daughter?

right.

Old Steve glanced at Merlin's glasses curiously, and said:

She is the only daughter of Hank and his third assistant, Janet Van Dyne, and the only relative of Pim Hank at present. However, according to our information, the relationship between this girl and Dr. Pim is not the same. No, she grew up in a boarding school and just got a Ph.D. last year, she inherited part of her father's wisdom, but legally severed all ties with her father.

Wow, it seems that she has a lot of resentment towards her father.

Merlin blinked, he had already found a breakthrough.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable staying with Pym, and I can understand this girl's behavior.

Ms. Carter sighed and said:

Pym is the kind of guy... who can do everything except make people around him feel comfortable. Merlin, I don't know what you plan to do, but I can probably guess, Hope girl He is innocent, and Pim is very smart, he knows how to protect his daughter, if you want to use Hope to force him to do something, I guess it will be difficult for you to succeed.

It's okay, I know what to do.

Merlin waved his hand and said:

I'm not a devil after all.

Don't worry, I won't trade one life for another. Speaking of which, I've always been confused about something, Ms. Carter, I hope you can explain it to me.

He looked at Carter, and he said:

In your diary, I know that you realized that Hydra was hidden in the shadow of S.H.I.E.L.D. a long time ago. At that time, you were still in power. Why didn't you remove them? Instead, let them corrupt God The shield system, until now, left this mess to us?

Because I used to think they were the enemy.

Ms Carter said:

But then I found out, they weren't.

What does it mean?

Merlin frowned and said:

A boring riddle? Or is it literal?

This is up to you to find the answer yourself, Merlin, I can't tell you any more, unless you become one of us.

Carter and old Steve shook hands, and they took a step back. A blue halo, like splashing sea water, spread behind them, like a pulsating arc of light, and like a flash leading to other places. Like the door to the world.

They are leaving.

Last time, and this time.

Merlin stood up. He watched Ms. Carter and old Steve walk into the light curtain behind him. He asked the last question.

You have been saying that my time has not yet come...I want to ask, what does this time you call represent?

Merlin looked into Ms. Carter's eyes and said:

Is it when it's all over?

It can be an end, Merlin, it can be a new beginning, it can even be halftime.

Ms. Carter's body was gradually covered by light flowing like time, and she said to Merlin:

But it all depends on your choice.

You are very important, Merlin. The connection between you and this world and the stars is more important than you think. But before that time comes, we can't interfere with your destiny too much. It’s an extremely dangerous thing for us.”

Someone is watching you, Merlin, remember this. The climax of the river of fate is not too long away, so whatever you want to do, do it.

If you say these things, it means you didn't say anything.

Merlin shook his head regretfully. He stretched out his hand and bid farewell to Carter and old Steve. He said:

But thank you for the news, and I want to thank you for Ava.

Carter and old Steve waved their hands at Merlin, and their figures disappeared as quickly as they came when the blue light curtain converged. After a while, only Merlin and Steve were left in this dilapidated ballroom. .

Sad man.

Merlin waved his fingers, supported Steve's body with gravity, and then inserted the key of the mystery house into the door lock, using the mystery house as a passage, and quickly returned to Carter Manor.

Sharon had already rested, and Merlin didn't bother the girl. He threw Steve on the sofa, sat on the other side of the sofa, took out Finger of Death's magic book, and just started reading in the dim living room.

Ten minutes later, Steve opened his eyes suddenly, and then jumped up from the sofa.

He looked around vigilantly, and after seeing the familiar furnishings and Merlin sitting on the sofa reading a book, he felt relieved, and then said with a sense of loss:

she left?

Yes, she's gone.

Merlin said without raising his head:

She also asked me to tell you that you may not see each other very much in the future. But think about the good, Steve, at least the promise between you is fulfilled. Seriously, that dance made people like me Very touching.

Steve sat on the sofa, bowed his head, and didn't speak.

Leaving a piece of the past undeniably hard is tough, but we have to get used to it, and every now and then the damned world pulls out something familiar from our lives.

For children, this process is called growing up. For adults, this process is called loss.

You look miserable.

Merlin closed the magic book and said:

Come on, let's go drink.

I know a nice bar that you might like.

No, not going.

Steve raised his head, he looked at Merlin, with a smile on his tear-stained face, he said:

I wasted too much time, I have to hurry up with the rest of the time, I went to training.

Going to the basement to fight?

Merlin says:

Whatever you want, but remember to be quiet, there are other people living upstairs.

Also, welcome home, Steve Rogers.

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