Ch 3 Kang

Sun streamed in through the round window. He let out a whoop. "The sun's shining favorably I see. Time to get comfortable." He walked over and unclasped my chains. The moment they left my wrists they dissipated. I took my left hand into my right to rub at my skin. Then he flicked his hand and two brightly colored red and purple mugs appeared in each hand. He slightly raised the cups with steaming drinks. "Guests first."

Why the different colors? Did he expect me to take one over the other? "I assure you they are the same and safe. The chains were for my protection not yours." I took the steaming red cup while he took the purple one. Then he hunkered down in his chair. He took a deep sip. "Hmm, Nothing like a good cup of Earl Grey."

I took a sip. It was lovely. I felt it sink into my belly, spreading warmth.

He settled his cup on the table with a stack of books. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was the god of mischief. Most of these gods were known as Loki, but this special lady chose to be known as Sylvie. Sylvie now that's a lady that can hold a grudge."

"What happened?" I asked.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "She killed me." I stared at him with incredulity. "I know I look quite healthy," he said in response as he brought his hands up, palms open to me. "Wanda have you seen and done things that your rational mind says should not be?"

I felt my head nod in affirmation as images of the impossible came to my mind. "Time is linear, like a string." He began to pat his purple sports jacket. "Wait, I am sure I have it." He pulled a thick cord from his right pocket and pulled it taut. "So time is linear. You journey from one end to another in life. Now I was the keeper of the sacred timeline as the head of the Time Variance Authority, known as the TVA. Sylvie, mischievous Sylvie, caused my death and in doing so caused time to unravel," and he began to unwind the fibers so they splayed out. "Time branched causing the formation of many universes, or rather a multiverse, since one universe ceased to exist."

"Every time a person makes a decision with cosmic ramifications a branch happens and there is now another universe made of all the same people. Some versions or variants of a person are better than others."

"I am going to level with you, there was a multiverse before and it was bad, very bad. People were crossing over and killing each other, versions of themselves and wars broke out constantly as people fought to be the main timeline. I unified the timeline and set up the TVA to maintain peace and order.

"Sylvie killing me allowed for other versions of myself to exist. Currently the variant of me is a despot ruler of the TVA. He is using the multiple timelines as his own playground of sorts. He is experimenting with people's lives, exploring the what if people were monsters which creates timelines with such atrocities as genocide, wars of the century, and pandemics. He is quite proud of pushing several million to abuse their planets resulting in catastrophic weather events leading to mass extinctions."

"The people across his multiverse are suffering. Hope is virtually gone. I can feel it. See I was the one born of compassion. I am virtually helpless to stop him. Oh I have tried and failed, barely escaping with my life."

He didn't seem helpless. I wondered what powers he possessed. But then again he was trying to fight a variant of himself.

"He needs to be stopped. Wanda, time after time you make the choices that save lives. Your regrets stem from the hurt you've caused others. You could have kept Westview under your power, forcing them to comply while you had your happy ending. You are perfect Wanda, power tempered with empathy. Will you help me save countless lives by fixing the timelines Wanda?"

If what he said was true then this other Kang needed to be stopped. "This is a lot to take in. I.."

"You don't believe me."

"Is there a reason I should? You kidnapped me and I awoke in chains." I cried back.

He was quiet. "I don't know what to say to convince you that what I am saying is the truth. Maybe he will know what to say to you. Let's take a trip to New York City."

Xxx

Kindly review if you enjoyed this as reviews inspire more prose. What do you think? Should Wanda trust Kang?