American Comics: Trading Tom Cat

"My dear boss, what can I do for you?"

"I will be leaving for a while, and you will be in charge of this base for the time being."

The White Queen's expression immediately turned serious: "Don't you need me to come along? My abilities should be able to help you."

"No, quite the opposite, your abilities are a taboo in that place and could very well cause big trouble."

The White Queen raised a beautiful eyebrow. "There's such a place?"

Seeing that Locke didn't want to say anything more, the White Queen simply didn't ask any more questions.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

I trust you to do things.

After assigning all the tasks, Locke left the Hydra base with Tom.

He didn't use a private jet or any of Hydra's forces; he was just like an ordinary person traveling.

A few days later, Locke, wearing a mask and carrying a travel bag, appeared in a rather desolate area.

Locke looked around and said, "This should be it."

The travel bag on his back was pushed open from the inside, and Tom's little head peeked out.

"Tom, the rest is up to you."

Tom nodded, jumped out of his backpack, and then lay down on the ground, sniffing carefully as if looking for something.

One minute, two minutes... five minutes, ten minutes...

Locke and the others were very patient, and Tom was also very patient in his search.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few hours, or maybe more.

Suddenly, Tom's eyes lit up, and he stood up and waved to Locke repeatedly.

Locke approached expectantly: "Tom, did you find it?"

Tom nodded instantly, his face also beaming with excitement.

"Then what are we waiting for, Tom? Let's get started." With that, he handed the backpack behind him to Tom.

Tom sprang into action, pulling a jumble of tools from behind his back. Then, he vanished in a flash, leaving behind a continuous clanging and clattering sound.

Just a few seconds later, Tom stopped. At that moment, the pile of tools turned into two things: a microscope-like object and a crystal.

Tom carefully picked up a stone from the ground, placed it under the chip in the machine, and operated it for a while. After a moment, a drop of somewhat turbid blood slowly emerged from the stone.

Upon seeing the drop of blood, both Locke and Tom were greatly excited.

This drop of blood is Locke's ultimate goal; it belongs to the White Queen, and this is the very spot where she was captured.

Being captured will inevitably lead to a battle, and where there is a battle, there will naturally be bloodshed.

"Tom, let's begin."

Tom nodded, a rare look of solemnity appearing on his face. He sat cross-legged on the ground and carefully swallowed the drop of blood. Gradually, an invisible power spread around him.

This is the ritual for obtaining the 'talent spell' after successfully completing the first chapter of "Forbidden Meditation Techniques." That's right, the first ability Tom is about to acquire is the White Queen's mind control ability.

Locke desperately wanted to transform the power of chaos into his own 'innate ability', and the best way to solve the potential major problems was to have Tom learn mind control, and then, while Locke was refining the power of chaos, Tom would delve into the depths of Locke's mind. At that point, no matter what Sython wanted to do, Tom would be able to save Locke.

As for why he came secretly, it was because Locke did not intend to let anyone know about the existence of the Forbidden Meditation Technique.

Time passed slowly, and before long, Tom opened his eyes again. At this moment, a familiar, dazzling light surged in Tom's eyes, which was none other than the White Queen's mind control ability.

Tom had a blast playing with all sorts of abilities, like mind manipulation, memory extraction, and memory erasure, but unfortunately, he had no goal, which diminished half the fun.

Locke waited quietly, letting Tom play to his heart's content. Rather than playing, it was more about letting Tom adapt to his newfound abilities as quickly as possible.

Finally, feeling that it was about time, Locke reached out and ruffled Tom's hair: "Tom, have you had enough fun? It's time to get down to business."

Tom nodded quickly, and his eyes returned to normal.

He patted his chest, grinned, and gave Locke a thumbs-up.

Leave everything to Tom, no problem!

Locke took a deep breath, sat down on the ground, took out a small square box from his pocket, opened the box, and inside was a drop of blood. Taking a drop of blood from Wanda, who was in a coma, was naturally very easy.

Locke opened his mouth and swallowed the drop of blood. According to the method recorded in "Forbidden Meditation Techniques," he could condense the chaotic power contained within it.

During the condensation process, time and space seemed to lose their meaning. It was unknown how much time had passed. Inside Locke's body, that drop of blood rose and transformed, finally condensing into a blood-red energy ball that seemed to possess infinite magical power.

The next moment, the energy ball exploded, and the terrifying chaotic power instantly engulfed Locke completely.

At the same time, consciousness began to sink, sink, and sink continuously.

After an unknown amount of time, when Locke opened his eyes again, a blood-red scene filled his entire field of vision.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Crimson Abyss

This is a space devoid of any color other than scarlet; the stars, the sun and moon, and even the universe itself are all bathed in scarlet hues.

One after another, crimson beams of light, reaching to the heavens and the earth, emanated from the unknown depths, some as thick as galaxies, others as thin as a person's waist.

Upon closer inspection, Locke couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Within each of those crimson beams of light was a figure, a very familiar figure: a voluptuous, fiery figure, crimson energy, and a blood-red witch's attire—it was none other than the Scarlet Witch Wanda!

All of these Wandas were enveloped in crimson pillars of light. The thinner the pillar, the more immature and weaker the Scarlet Witch Wanda inside. The thicker the pillar, the more mature and powerful the Scarlet Witch Wanda. The thickest pillar, which resembled a galaxy, contained an incredibly powerful Super Scarlet Witch. With a roar, her terrifying chaotic magic was enough to destroy everything in the starry sky in an instant, and the entire universe trembled.

However, even in that terrifying state, they could not escape the shadow of that pillar of light, and were even gradually pulled into that crimson end that seemed to devour everything!

Locke took a barely perceptible breath. Even though it was his first time here, he already had some guesses and understanding about the place.

That place, where even a direct gaze could vaguely feel one's soul being devoured, is 100% related to the legendary god of black magic, Sithon.

In the Marvel universe, among the powerful beings clearly recognized as multiverse beings, the five cosmic entities have projections and clones in every branch universe. However, the Dark Lord, Sithon, who has always been considered a multiverse being, has no projections or clones, and is even merely a background figure. This led Locke to believe that Sithon was on a different path.

Now I understand. Sithon's choice is different from that of the five gods. He uses each Wanda as food to nourish himself.

Every Wanda who possesses the power of chaos is a seed. As the power of chaos grows stronger and deeper, the Wanda will become increasingly controlled by it until finally being completely devoured and transformed into a resource to nourish Sithon.

Locke looked up at the same pillar of light that had appeared above him, and his expression hardened.

"The possessors of chaotic magic are all seeds planted by Sithon. This result is even more terrifying than I imagined. Fortunately, I made a backup plan."

Locke casually sat down on the ground and began to call out to Tom in his mind.

One sound, two sounds, three sounds...

After calling out only three times, Locke heard a familiar meow, and the next moment, a cat suddenly burst out of Locke's body.

Holding Tom in his arms, Locke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Tom looked around with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, and even curiously reached out his paw to scratch at the pillar of light surrounding Locke.

"Tom, stop playing! The situation is dangerous!"

"Being enveloped by this pillar of light, it won't be long before I'm completely devoured by a demon god!"

"Tom, help me, think of a way to cut off this beam of light."

Tom was immediately lost in thought. He had never done anything like this before, and he didn't know what to do.

Locke didn't disturb Tom's contemplation. Given the 100% goodwill between Locke and Tom, Tom would definitely do everything in his power to help Locke in this life-threatening crisis. As long as Tom sincerely and wholeheartedly helped, a solution would definitely be found.

After thinking for a while, Tom jumped down and came to a pillar of light. He turned left and right, then suddenly opened his mouth wide and took a bite out of the scarlet pillar of light.

Click!

The sound was exceptionally clear in this deathly silent crimson space. The scarlet witches who were very close to Locke, whether due to insufficient power or because their senses were blocked by the surrounding pillars of light, did not react much. On the contrary, the super scarlet witch who had been roaring and unleashing her most terrifying power stopped abruptly and looked around in confusion.

Locke slapped Tom on the head as he seemed to be savoring his food: "Stop slurping, Tom, hurry up! Otherwise, something bad will happen!"

Tom let out a soft "woof," nodded, and continued to gnaw on the food, making a satisfying crunching sound as he ate.

The most powerful Scarlet Witch had successfully locked onto her target. From initial doubt to bewilderment, then to utter astonishment, she finally fell into a state of complete daze.

Seeing that the pillar of light surrounding Locke was about to break completely after being bitten through by that bizarre and incomprehensible 'cat-like life form', the dumbfounded Scarlet Witch could no longer contain herself. She began to manipulate the terrifying chaotic magic within her body, frantically attacking Locke's direction wave after wave.

However, no matter how powerful she was, enough to shake the galaxy, she was completely powerless against the crimson pillar of light beside her. She could only watch helplessly as the 'cat-like life form' took its last bite and completely severed the pillar of light.

The fragments of the gnawed-off pillars of light around him instantly transformed into pure chaotic magic, all of which entered Locke's body. Before he could even feel the surge of power within him, Locke had a clear feeling that he could leave this crimson space.

Without any hesitation, Locke picked up Tom and decisively left.

The last moment before leaving was marked by the complete madness of the Scarlet Witch behind him, and by a voice that intermittently reached Locke's ears.

"I will find you! I definitely will!"

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Power of Chaos

In the desolate wilderness, a person and a cat sat on the ground at the same time, their eyes closed, as if they had fallen asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, the cat opened its eyes first, approached with some concern, and gently shook Locke's body.

At that very moment, Locke suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with crimson light, and an astonishing surge of chaotic magic power erupted. The ground was cracking inch by inch, and the surrounding matter was being transformed and annihilated!

In just a few seconds, within a radius of several hundred meters centered on Locke, only the rampaging and raging chaotic power remained, with nothing else.

Even Tom was forced to run a hundred meters away, meowing worriedly.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

It took a full minute for the chaotic energy raging around him to gradually return to Locke's body, and his eyes returned to normal.

Feeling the surging power within him, Locke couldn't help but marvel: "As expected of the Chaos Force, one of the three ancient forces of the universe, even I, with my extreme control abilities, took a full minute to completely master this power!"

No wonder, that Scarlet Witch has always shown that her control over the power of chaos is rather average.

The power of chaos has many effects, such as mind control, illusion, and matter reorganization, but its core ability is creation.

It can create trial props according to the user's wishes, which is a kind of almost omnipotent power.

Just like in a parallel universe, the Scarlet Witch said that there were no more mutants in the world, thus wiping out all mutants. She created a rule, and all mutants were wiped out by the rule.

Such incredible power is ironically used as a form of control in the Scarlet Witch's film and television versions, much like chains, which is truly laughable and demonstrates a complete lack of control.

Thinking this, Locke opened his hand, and a ball of chaotic power emerged, expanding in an instant and transforming into a scarlet giant sword that stood horizontally in mid-air. With a wave of his hand, Locke sent the giant sword flying across the sky, instantly splitting a distant mountain in two!

The severed peak fell to the ground, and a crimson hand rose up, grabbed the half of the peak, and crushed it to pieces with a powerful squeeze.

"This is the true power of chaos!"

Looking at the result he had created in the distance, Locke smiled.

Even though he had only just obtained the power of chaos, and even though he had severed the source of the power of chaos, which meant that Locke had only nurtured his own unique seed of the power of chaos, under Locke's powerful manipulation, his explosive power at this moment was definitely no less than that of a top-tier monster on the surface, no, it might even have exceeded it.

At least, Thor, who is said to withstand the energy of a neutron star with his own body, has never destroyed a mountain with a single blow.

Looking at the mountain peak that was now only half-formed in the distance, Locke stroked his chin: "It looks weird that it's only half-formed."

Locke extended a finger, and crimson energy surged at the fingertip, eventually transforming into a small ball. The ball spun rapidly, and as it spun, its color deepened and deepened until it finally became a deep red, almost black.

Energy compression, an advanced technique that Scarlet Witch could never achieve.

With a gentle tap, a black dot the size of a marble shot out.

The world fell silent for a moment, then, boom!

A terrifying crimson mushroom cloud rose into the air, unleashing terrifying energy that relentlessly destroyed everything in its path!

A moment later, the crimson energy dissipated, and the area where the half-mountain peak had stood was now empty, leaving only a terrifying crater that looked as if it had been bombed by a nuclear bomb.

Facing the waves of wind whipped up by the explosion, Locke patted Tom's head, who was looking rather dumbfounded.

"Tom, we should go back too."

With one hand grabbing Tom, crimson energy appeared beneath his feet, and Locke leaped into the air, instantly soaring into the clouds like a crimson lightning bolt, leaving behind layers of sonic boom clouds.

"Huh~" Locke, who was flying at high speed, suddenly stopped and stood in mid-air, looking down with great interest.

"It's already this late, isn't it?"

On his first flight, it was difficult to control the direction, so Locke simply used his telepathy to scan the people below to determine his location. Unexpectedly, this scan revealed something very interesting.

"Come on, Tom, I'll take you to witness the birth of an interesting guy."

"Meow?" Tom also showed a hint of curiosity.

In the Ten Commandments' temporary base, Locke strolled around with Tom. The fully armed Ten Commandments warriors around them seemed to be blind, completely ignoring Locke and Tom as they wandered.