After reflecting on his exchange with ancient one and realizing that she had no intention of interfering with him, Anton let out a breath of relief. But his mind quickly returned to the future vision that ancient one had projected before him.
He understood one thing clearly—the future that ancient one showed him wasn't necessarily the future he would experience.
Her purpose in showing him those glimpses was to make him fully aware of the changes his presence had caused in the Marvel world.
Spawn.
Hellboy.
And more.
These characters were never meant to exist in this world.
"In other words… in the future—no, perhaps sooner than I think—I'm going to encounter them."
Anton pondered for a moment.
With a single thought, he summoned Cyborg.
Huh!
Utilizing his immense computational power, Cyborg instantly connected to the Pentagon's classified database, bypassing its firewalls with ease.
Anton scanned the information as it appeared before him. With the memory of his past life, he searched for a specific name.
Al Simmons.
A U.S. military lieutenant colonel. A highly trained special forces operative. Not just a fearless soldier, but a perfect assassin—one who had carried out countless brutal missions for his superiors.
Of course, all of that was just background noise.
What mattered most was this:
Al Simmons was the true identity of Spawn.
Anton raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
He read further.
"Al Simmons died in the line of duty three months ago."
As he stared at the report, Anton knew—the birth of spawn was already in motion.
But what about Hellboy?
If Hellboy truly existed in this world, then why had Anton never heard of him?
That doesn't make sense.
In the movies, Hellboy's backstory was deeply tied to World War II.
He was the son of Satan—Anung Un Rama, also known as Hellboy—summoned to Earth by the Nazis in a secret experiment in 1944.
To prevent Hellboy from becoming a threat to humanity, he was taken in and raised by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, an American scholar and paranormal investigator.
As Hellboy matured, he grew into his demonic appearance, but was ultimately trained to fight against supernatural threats. He became a special investigator, working to combat demons and dark magic that leaked into the mortal world.
In that context, the U.S. government was fully aware of the existence of the supernatural.
But in the Marvel world—where Anton now stood—the government barely acknowledged the existence of magic at all.
If it hadn't been for Ghost Rider and the Twelve Talismans Incident, the U.S. government would probably still believe magic was just fiction.
That alone was enough to suggest that Hellboy did not exist in this world.
With this doubt in mind, Cyborg synchronized with Anton's thoughts and searched through the world's most classified databases.
Yet…
There was nothing.
No mention of Hellboy.
No record of Anung Un Rama.
No file on Professor Bruttenholm.
There were several people with the name "Trevor Bruttenholm," but none matched the one from Anton's memories.
That's strange.
Unlike spawn, who was already in the process of coming into existence, Hellboy seemed to be completely absent from this world.
But that's impossible.
The future vision ancient one projected couldn't have been wrong.
With the Eye of Agamotto and the Time Stone at her disposal, even if she couldn't perfectly predict the post-Anon Marvel timeline, she could still lock onto fragments of the future.
So then… what's going on?
Where is Hellboy?
Why is there no trace of him at all?
Anton fell into deep thought.
After a while, he decided not to dwell on it. There was no point obsessing over something he couldn't yet solve.
There's always a solution.
For now, he would wait.
And when the time was right… he would find his answer.
Anyway, Anton had Superman at his disposal now.
Even though Superman's resistance to magic was lower compared to his physical durability, it was still far beyond what most beings could handle.
As long as he didn't run into someone like ancient one or Mephisto themselves, he could still sweep through most magic-based threats with ease.
With that thought, Anton temporarily set aside his concerns about spawn and Hellboy—two characters who were bound to appear sooner or later. Instead, he shifted his focus back to more immediate matters.
The Men in Black were running smoothly now, requiring less of his direct involvement.
His subordinates, Agent Z and the others, could handle operations independently.
Anton only needed to step in when major incidents arose.
And that was good enough.
After all, the arrival of the Aquilonians and the Zerg had, in a way, opened a channel of communication between Earth and the wider universe.
Through the Acheronians, Earth could now interact with various extraterrestrial civilizations—and perhaps, one day, it would even become a transit hub for interstellar travel.
Just like Earth in the world of Men in Black.
With the Men in Black organization stabilizing, Anton could now divert part of his energy elsewhere.
For example—
His next movie project.
And more importantly—
Redeeming a magic-based Superman: Shazam.
After meeting ancient one, Anton immediately revisited his long-postponed film project—"Thunder Shazam."
Truth be told, the project had been put on hold mainly because Anton had been feeling lazy.
Now, however, it was back on the agenda.
Speaking of Shazam, one had to mention Anton's most recent film—"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
The movie had been out for nearly a month, and although some time had passed since its release, its box office performance remained strong.
It was still pulling in at least $20 million per day worldwide.
Moreover, this film had become—
Anton's most successful project to date.
Not just one of his best. The best.
As of now, the global box office had reached $1.227 billion.
Industry analysts predicted that "Dawn of Justice" would easily surpass $1.8 billion and secure a spot among the top five highest-grossing films of all time.
It was also expected to dominate the global box office rankings for the year.
While Anton was only one of the film's two directors, and technically handled only a few scenes himself, the public perception was entirely different.
To most audiences—and even his co-director—Anton was the true driving force behind the movie's success.
Without him, this film wouldn't have achieved what it did.
It was easy to imagine the frenzy that would erupt in Hollywood and the global entertainment industry once Anton officially announced his next film project.
Of course, that didn't really matter to him.
What mattered was that—he had already begun making moves.
He picked up his phone and called Jim, checking on the progress of Thunder Shazam.
Anton had set a high bar for the film's casting choices, and because of that, Jim had spent a significant amount of time searching for suitable actors.
So far, he hadn't found anyone who fully met Anton's expectations.
There were only a few backup choices, but no definitive lead yet.
This was one of the reasons why production hadn't officially started—not just because Anton had been procrastinating.
However, on the writing side, things were moving along.
DC's top screenwriter, Browning, along with a team of other writers, had conducted a major brainstorming sessionand finalized the script.
They had already handed it over to Anton for review.
The revised script followed Anton's original storyline:
Dr. Sivana, the former guardian of Shazam's power, seeks revenge after being stripped of his abilities. He plots to release Black Adam and help him conquer the world. But he is opposed by Billy Batson, the new Shazam.
Of course, since it was designed to be a fun, family-friendly blockbuster, the movie would naturally end on a happy note.
The core narrative was clear and straightforward.
The plot that Browning and the other writers developed enhanced the original storyline, avoiding the bland emotional drama that had weakened the first version.
This made the story far more engaging and vivid.
While the original script wasn't entirely flawed, Anton wasn't the kind of person to settle for mediocrity.
His philosophy was simple: Do what you can with the abilities you have.
Right now, his priority was getting Shazam into production as soon as possible.
The script was ready.
At the very least, it was far superior to the original Thunder Shazam.
In his previous life, the original "Thunder Shazam" had a production budget of less than $90 million and grossed $364 million worldwide.
While that was technically a financial success, its reputation was abysmal.
It had disappointed audiences to the point where it was almost embarrassing to discuss.
This time, Anton's version wouldn't just be "better"—it would be exceptional.
By analyzing the original's weaknesses and addressing them in advance, Anton was confident that his final product would far surpass the previous one.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A sudden knock on the door pulled Anton from his thoughts.
"Come in."
He turned his gaze toward the entrance.
The door opened, revealing Agent K, a familiar face from the Field Service Department.
K's expression remained calm and composed as he delivered his message:
"Sir, the World Council would like your input regarding their communication with the people of Aquilon."
Anton raised an eyebrow.
The World Council?
Clearly, K was just the messenger.
"They're waiting for you in the conference room."
Anton nodded, pushing his thoughts about Shazam aside for now.
"Understood."
He stood up.
"Let's see what they want."
Within minutes, Anton arrived at the conference room.
The holographic projection device activated, displaying the representatives of the World Council seated around a large round table.
As soon as Anton logged into the call, all eyes turned to him.
"You've done an excellent job, Anton."
The representatives were the first to speak, offering praise for his recent efforts.
"You truly deserve your place in the Justice League."
"You saved New York—again—and by extension, the world."
It was obvious that, through their interactions with the Aquilonians, they had learned about the Zerg threat.
Perhaps they had even begun to understand the origins of the Aquilonians themselves.
After a brief pause, the U.S. representative spoke up:
"The reason we called you here is to consult you on something important."
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"During our discussions with the Acheronians, we discovered something… troubling."
"We learned that Earth's existence is no secret in the universe."
"In fact, many cosmic civilizations already know exactly where Earth is."
"This concerns us greatly."
Anton, however, remained unimpressed.
"Frankly, your concern is unnecessary."
He leaned back slightly.
"You're all aware that, within Asgard's worldview, our galaxy consists of the Nine Realms—and these realms have been interacting for thousands of years."
"So why start worrying now?"
He paused for a moment before adding:
"For now, Earth is safe. In fact, it's safer than you might think."
"For one, the Asgardians would never allow outsiders to invade Earth."
"And secondly—"
His eyes swept across the Council members.
"—you should have more confidence in Superman and the Justice League."
"As long as we're here, no alien invasion will succeed."
Despite Anton's reassurances, the representatives' expressions remained unreadable.
It was clear they had already considered these points.
Anton studied them for a moment before speaking again.
"Alright, so what exactly do you need my input on?"
"If it's something within my knowledge, I'll be happy to help."
The representatives exchanged glances before the U.S. delegate finally spoke again:
"The Acheronian envoy has submitted an application for long-term residence on Earth."
"He's requesting official protection until the rest of his people arrive."
Anton raised an eyebrow.
"In exchange—"
The representative's tone became more deliberate.
"—he's offering to share important scientific and technological data."
Anton's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ah.
So this was what had caught their attention.
These people could never resist the lure of advanced technology.
Because the Aquilonians are small and physically weak, they were naturally inclined to develop an advanced technological civilization to compensate.
In fact, the Aquilonians' level of technology, which allows them to traverse galaxies in single-person spacecraft, is far more advanced than that of Earth's current civilization.
It's similar to the proton weapons used by the Acheronians, which had already appeared among the Men in Black.
Protons are common subatomic particles—not elementary particles, but rather composite particles, classified as fermions and baryons. They were the first baryons ever discovered and remain a fundamental component of atomic nuclei.
Simply put, proton weapons—also known as particle beam weapons—function by accelerating particles like protons and neutrons to speeds ranging from tens of thousands to 200,000 km/s.
These high-speed particles are then emitted through electrodes or magnetic clusters, forming an ultra-thin particle beam capable of bombarding targets with extreme precision and destructive power.
To the Acheronians, this level of technology is as commonplace as gunpowder is to humans.
However, from Earth's perspective, this technological leap is comparable to the moment when human ancestors first harnessed fire.
It represents a seismic shift in technological progress, not only revolutionizing weaponry but also advancing interstellar warships, space travel, and other fields of development.
At that moment, Anton understood everything.
No wonder these people couldn't resist the temptation to seek my advice.
He exhaled slightly, then spoke in a calm, deliberate tone:
"You want the Men in Black—or rather, the Justice League—to protect the Acheronian envoy while he remains on Earth."
That was the real issue at hand—not just the Acheronian's residency application.
The envoy's request was simple: he wanted protection until his people arrived to retrieve him.
"Precisely."
The U.S. representative confirmed, nodding.
"Even if the Justice League itself isn't directly involved, we believe the Men in Black should act as the first line of defense—which is why we're seeking your approval."
Anton considered it for a moment.
"Fine. I have no objections."
He paused briefly, then added with a faint smile:
"But… I do have a small request."
The representatives of various nations exchanged glances before turning their attention back to Anton.
"Please, go ahead."
They were eager to hear what he had to say.
Given Anton's current status, they were prepared to accommodate most of his demands—provided they weren't unreasonable.
"The Men in Black are currently understaffed."
Anton's tone remained casual, but his words carried clear intent.
"I want you all to agree that, if I find someone I want to recruit, you will release them unconditionally."
In other words:
If I set my sights on any of your personnel, not only will you refrain from interfering—you'll hand them over with a smile.
A brief silence filled the room.
The representatives exchanged knowing looks.
Then, one by one, they nodded in agreement.
"No problem."
…
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