American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

138. The Villains’ Information.

"Alright, kid, no one will disturb us anymore. Tell me, who are you really?" Hawkeye's demeanor changed from the kindness he showed Ashley, his face now stern as he stared at Alex, his tone unfriendly.

"My codename is Crow Sorcerer." Alex didn't hide his identity from Hawkeye, but he didn't reveal anything about Pietro and Kara.

"To be honest, I'm from another universe. Due to an accident, I ended up here. But honestly, I didn't expect your universe to be in such a terrible state. I need information—all the intel on the wasteland."

"Another universe?" Hawkeye was stunned, trying hard to see Alex's features clearly. "Oh my God, can you tell me about that universe?"

"It's vastly different from yours. It's a prosperous world where heroes still battle villains, but it's relatively peaceful. People live and work in peace. Everything is normal," Alex said, not mentioning that he had just come from a universe nearly annihilated by Deadpool. He casually deflected the question. But to old Barton, the world Alex described was like a dream. He had almost forgotten what peace felt like, and for a moment, he felt a strong urge to cry.

"Sounds amazing," Hawkeye murmured.

"It is. If the Hawkeye in that world knew you married Spider-Man's daughter, it might be even more interesting," Alex quipped, then shifted the topic back.

"Let's stop talking about useless things. It's your turn to talk, sir. I need to know everything you know."

With a sigh, old Hawkeye looked at Alex. After a moment, he slowly began, "It all started forty-five years ago. Almost all the supervillains, led by Red Skull, teamed up and launched an attack on the heroes. They had gathered all our intel and caught us off guard."

"The villains won a great victory, dividing up the world. I know that already. What I need is information about the wasteland. Besides you, how many heroes are left? How many villains are still alive? Where are they, and what weapons do they have? That's what I want to know."

Hearing this, old Barton stopped reminiscing about the painful past. He looked at Alex in disbelief.

"You... what do you plan to do with this information?"

For a moment, Alex saw a glimmer of hope in old Barton's eyes. After a pause, Alex said, "For certain reasons, I need a lot of energy. And now, all the resources in the wasteland are basically in the hands of those supervillains. So, as you might guess, I'm going to do some superhero work."

"Haha, nice! You really found the right person!" Old Hawkeye laughed heartily, looking at Alex with a much warmer expression than before.

Even without reading minds, Alex knew what Hawkeye was thinking. It was nothing more than wanting revenge with his help. This didn't matter to Alex. With the same goal, he didn't mind cleaning up some trash in the wasteland, as most people here deserved it. But Alex didn't want to be used as a tool by Hawkeye. After his previous experiences, Alex was now very cautious about these parallel worlds. After all, no one knew what strange and twisted things were lurking beneath the surface of reality.

"Don't get too excited, Mr. Barton. We're outnumbered, so we need a very careful plan. My only goal is powerful energy."

"I understand. You magic folks are all the same. Strange used to travel the world looking for artifacts too. Don't worry, I get it," Hawkeye said with a smile.

"Then, you can begin," Alex said, gesturing for him to continue.

"Honestly, most of that powerful energy disappeared in that battle. The villains took it as spoils of war. But some people do have treasures. For example, Red Skull and Doom..."

"I'm not foolish enough to take on Hydra's army and countless Doombots. Give me something useful."

After thinking for a moment, Hawkeye continued, "Alright, I believe there are a few people you might be interested in. First, Count Nefaria. I heard he's still alive. His ionic energy might be useful to you. Then there's the Enchantress. That woman is from Asgard and has a very long lifespan.

"And Bullseye. I heard he had a falling out with Red Skull and went into hiding. Besides them, there's Moonstone. The stone she carries holds immense energy."

Old Hawkeye dreamed every day of crushing these villains, so he knew their information inside out. Nodding thoughtfully, Alex waved his hand, undoing the spell and freeing old Hawkeye. The rope returned to its original bow form.

Having a local source of information was indeed helpful. It would save Alex a lot of detours. With Hawkeye's pointers, his future targets would be much clearer. However, Alex couldn't be sure how much energy these villains' sources could provide to power the timepad. But he guessed it was still far from enough.

"You've got some skills, kid. Where did you learn these magic tricks?" old Hawkeye asked, rubbing his sore wrists curiously.

"If I said Dracula, would you believe me?" Alex replied absentmindedly, still processing the information.

Those villains were crucial to him. In this desolate place, one couldn't guarantee what would come first, an accident or tomorrow. He had to find them before they died and figure out how to extract their energy.

"Come on, if you don't want to tell me, don't joke about it. You don't smell like a vampire," old Hawkeye said, not believing Alex's casual reply. But he was in a good mood, so he didn't press further. After a pause, he asked, "So, how do we proceed? I can find out their locations."

"Not 'we,' just me," Alex corrected him calmly. "I'm not interested in bringing a retired old man into battle. Thanks for the information, but I'll handle it from here."

"Hey! We were just getting along so well," Hawkeye protested, standing in front of Alex. "Don't underestimate me. My skills haven't dulled a bit. You've heard of Hawkeye hitting the mark a hundred times? Even at my age, I can still take down those bastards! If you don't believe me, we can have another match. I won't go easy on you this time!"

But Alex just smiled slightly. "Sorry, but I'm still not asking."

The next moment, Alex's body slowly dissipated with the wind, vanishing without a trace. The repair shop fell silent, leaving Hawkeye standing there, unsure of what to do.

......

20 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
139. Hawkeye's Journey.
140. 'Dazzling Confusion' and 'Eye-Popping'.
141. Wasteland.
142. Regressed Civilization.
143. Bullseye's Special Mission.