Russell watched in horror as Killian spat out magma-like blood, which then melted Tony Stark's flesh as if it were nothing.
Blood like molten lava—it could sear through flesh with terrifying ease.
Just like now.
Russell rose slowly from his chair, walked around the table, and looked down at Mr. Paradox, who lay on the floor. The once-mighty superior now had a fist-sized, charred hole melted through the left side of his neck, where dark, brownish flesh pulsed with spurts of scarlet blood in sync with his weakening heartbeat.
"How… Hehe… Hehe…"
Mr. Paradox choked on his words, the blood pooling in his throat robbing him of speech. His eyes were wide with disbelief and horror.
How was it possible? This man was supposed to be a powerless, lowly time offender. How could he suddenly spit out magma-like blood, like Killian?
They'd thoroughly scanned him upon capture!
But there was no time to think of that now. His mind grew hazy, his body numb, and the world around him darkened.
In his final moments, he saw Russell's eyes, mocking him, as if silently laughing at his arrogance and stupidity.
Damn, I had other means… With a final, futile sense of regret, the light faded from Mr. Paradox's eyes.
Suddenly, alarms blared loudly!
Russell wasn't surprised; it made sense that the TVA would monitor the life signs of its senior operatives and trigger alarms if one died.
But he remained calm and composed. There was no fear or panic—no thrill from his first kill, either.
He knelt down, quickly rifling through Mr. Paradox's pockets, finding a folded tablet and a controller.
A prompt from the plunder system appeared.
Plunder Complete:
Healthy Body (White)
Description: Unlikely to fall ill, with no hidden ailments.
Russell looked at the entry with mild disappointment. For all his authority, this TVA manager had no abilities beyond a healthy body. Even with the power of the Extremis virus, he wasn't worth bothering about.
He dismissed the entry and focused on the controller. With Mr. Paradox's actions fresh in his memory, he quickly found the correct button.
Ding.
The time collar unlocked and fell away, and Russell felt a surge of relief as freedom returned.
Now, onto the time tablet.
Thanks to his "Knowledge Curse" ability, he was confident he'd figure out how to use it.
Just then, footsteps echoed in the hall outside.
Without hesitation, Russell opened the time tablet. It looked like an outdated, bulky electronic dictionary from a decade ago.
Swish!
A flash of red light suddenly burst from the tablet! A creature resembling a clock spirit materialized, rapidly growing larger and lunging at him.
"Wow, wow, wow~"
The figure laughed as it swelled, its face twisting into a menacing, animated grin. "They warned me you'd cause trouble, and they were right."
Russell was taken aback. How had Miss Minutes hidden herself in Mr. Paradox's tablet? And from her tone, it seemed like Kang, the overlord at the end of time, had taken notice of him.
This wasn't good.
He shook off his surprise, ignoring the towering Miss Minutes.
"Human, how did you get the power of the Extremis virus? Tell me, and I might spare you," she sneered.
But as she spoke, Russell continued operating the time tablet, undeterred.
He entered coordinates and a time destination, pressing the confirm button to open a time portal.
Nothing happened.
Miss Minutes laughed, delighted. "Sorry, time criminal. My authority over the tablet is higher than the supervisor's." Her face morphed into a cartoonish smirk. "You can't escape."
Russell stopped his futile efforts and looked at the cartoon clock. He said calmly, "You shouldn't have kept this a secret from Mr. Paradox."
Miss Minutes giggled, unconcerned. "If he dies, he dies. They're replaceable."
Russell shook his head. "Not about him dying. About letting me remove the time collar."
As he spoke, the door burst open, and a squad of TVA guards stormed in, brandishing their baton-like cutting sticks.
Miss Minutes floated overhead, amused, not warning the guards about Russell's newfound abilities. She crossed her animated arms, clearly intending to observe Russell's desperate struggle.
Russell's eyes glowed with molten gold, and veins like molten metal pulsed beneath his skin, radiating intense heat.
He lunged toward the guards, seeming ready for a desperate, violent confrontation.
But at the last moment, he pulled back and deliberately collided with one of the guards' cutting sticks.
Miss Minutes' smug expression shattered, her cartoon face turning frantic.
"Don't attack him!" she screamed, "Stop it!"
It was too late.
The guard at the front tried to retract his weapon, but the golden light at the end of his baton had already connected with Russell's chest.
The cutting stick activated!
Russell felt his chest start to disintegrate but showed no fear. He waved at Miss Minutes with a calm smile. "Goodbye, little cartoon clock."
And with that, he disappeared entirely, as if he'd never existed.
The time guards exchanged confused glances, while Miss Minutes' face shifted between anger and panic.
In the Void.
Russell got up from the ground, brushing the dust off his clothes. He felt surprisingly lighthearted.
Plan A might not have worked, but he had still escaped from the TVA under the watchful eye of Kang himself.
And he'd brought along the supervisor's time tablet. With the Knowledge Curse, he just might break the device's limitations.
And even if he couldn't, he still had the Infinity Stone Ring to get out. It would be challenging, but not hopeless.
Just then, he spotted movement in the distance and turned.
On a hill, a man who looked suspiciously like Captain America was sprinting at top speed.
Or… was it the Human Torch?
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