Anton had never forgotten the "Transformers" card.
After all, Transformers was an earlier series than Marvel, and the level of power it showcased — combined with the shocking popcorn special effects — was the first film that truly impacted Anton's view of American blockbusters.
In fact, within the Transformers universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't actually possess an absolute advantage in terms of power levels.
A technology-granted god, a world where demons dance wildly.
After the initial Transformers events, Anton had sent the Autobots away, making sure that the second, third, fourth, and even fifth Transformers disasters would no longer happen on Earth.
He had given them their origin back — would the Transformers still have the face to come back after that?
Cybertron was rebuilt with the power of the AllSpark. The Autobots who had been wandering the universe returned home. The Decepticons, having lost their leader Megatron, were eventually defeated by Optimus Prime. Now, the Autobots were thriving, and the Cybertronian civilization was slowly reestablishing itself in the universe.
Anton had kept an eye on these developments.
It wasn't that he had no contact with the Transformers after that — in fact, although communication gradually lessened once he obtained advanced technological materials from Cybertron, there was still a connection. The AllSpark, now stored in a war fortress' storage room, was left to the Autobots to use freely.
The Autobots were trustworthy.
They never caused trouble for Anton. They even used Cybertronian technology to strengthen the already formidable war fortress, making it even more formidable.
Because of the friendly relationship between the two sides, Anton had long stopped placing any restrictions on the Transformers.
In this Thanos event, Anton had no plans to let the Transformers fight.
He didn't need them to.
Besides, he had other considerations.
He intended to use this crisis to unite the Earth — and push humanity one step closer to truly entering the interstellar age.
The Earth was vibrant and full of potential, but compared to the major civilizations of the universe, it was still a fledgling race. Although humanity was progressing rapidly, it remained timid before the vastness of the stars.
Anton wanted humanity to realize: even though Earth is mankind's birthplace, it is no longer humanity's only stage.
The Autobots, however, were loyal to a fault.
Upon learning of the danger — or rather, the certainty — of Thanos' army threatening Earth, Optimus Prime proactively contacted Anton and offered to send Autobot warriors to assist.
Anton refused.
It wasn't that the Autobots were unreliable — far from it. But the affairs of Earth should be resolved by Earth itself.
This was closely tied to his vision: for humanity to step beyond the Earth with their own strength.
Moreover, he had prepared enough surprises for the coming war — enough that even Thanos would be shocked.
There was no need for the Autobots to reveal themselves.
Of course, to ensure everything went flawlessly, Anton still accepted the Autobots' offer of assistance in another way.
Cybertron possessed a unique technology: the ability to quickly build cities in a short amount of time — much like the ancient Great Wall in the East.
Anton nicknamed it the "Steel Great Wall."
The concept was simple: manufacture a series of modular templates, then assemble them into a massive, defensive steel wall.
It worked much like the prefab houses used on construction sites — but, of course, the templates had to be made of special memory metals. Otherwise, they wouldn't be truly indestructible.
Anton didn't have to worry about any of these details.
Optimus Prime had taken care of everything.
Sure enough, a trustworthy Autobot.
The next night.
A spacecraft landed at a secret base near New York.
Several figures stepped out of the ship.
Leading them was a blonde woman, followed half a step behind by a black man — and... a green-skinned figure?
No, not just one — a whole group of them.
The first three were naturally Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers; the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury; and Gamora, the adopted daughter of Thanos, who had now completely broken ties with him.
As for the group following behind, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents welcoming Carol's party — led by Coulson and Hill — immediately recognized them.
They were the Skrulls.
However, these were not the Skrulls they once hated — the ones who had infiltrated Earth and spread chaos.
These were the Skrulls who had evacuated with Nick Fury, wandering the universe rather than remaining behind to cause trouble.
This faction of Skrulls, aiming to peacefully integrate with humanity, was far less objectionable.
Coulson's gaze swept over the newcomers and finally fixed on Nick Fury's face.
"Nick, you're finally back."
He stepped forward and hugged Fury tightly, letting out a breath of exhaustion — but his eyes were full of unconcealed joy.
Carol walked over to an old friend — Maria Rambeau, the former head of S.W.O.R.D., who was now gray-haired and approaching sixty.
"Maria, long time no see."
Carol smiled warmly, though a hint of sadness flickered across her face.
Maria, excited yet emotional, replied softly,
"Yes."
She smiled bittersweetly, "I'm getting old... and you're still the same."
After a pause, she brightened again and asked,
"Enough of the small talk — you're back for the war, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Carol nodded solemnly.
"It seems Superman has done a good job. You're prepared."
"Superman?"
Coulson, returning to his senses, shook his head.
"We haven't seen him yet. He's elusive as ever. Only a few people in the Justice League even know where he is..."
"But at the World Council meeting yesterday, Anton said Superman has returned to Earth. There's no reason he would lie to us."
"Anton?"
Carol asked, intrigued.
"Is that the Justice League's spokesman?"
"Yes," Coulson said.
"Though calling him the spokesman doesn't quite capture it. He's more like the steward of the Justice League... practically running all its affairs, major and minor."
He continued, "And the Wayne Corporation behind Anton has quietly become the dominant company in the world. Even the president maintains close ties with them. The Justice League's power and status on Earth have far surpassed anyone's imagination."
As he spoke, there was a touch of helplessness in his voice.
It was true — without realizing it, the Justice League had grown to possess enormous influence.
On one hand, there was no individual or group left on Earth capable of threatening them.
On the other, Anton, acting as the League's 'white glove,' had used Wayne Enterprises to legitimize their political and military involvement, becoming virtually untouchable — much like the rise of the Spencer Corporation.
Two forces working in tandem — no one could stop them now.
"Oh?"
Carol wasn't particularly surprised.
She and Nick Fury had long discussed the Justice League's growing influence.
Honestly, having such an organization emerge from Earth was not easy — but it was far from impossible.
"In that case," Carol said, smiling faintly, "I must meet him."
Anton wasn't thinking about meeting Carol right now.
It was rare for him to actually get "busy."
And by busy, he meant working.
As the leader of the Men in Black and the general supervisor of the lunar base, Anton had, for the most part, left the construction work to the "prodigal son" Tony Stark.
But in order to reassure the various nations of the World Security Council, Anton had finally started showing his face and "working" under their noses.
For the past two days, he had been sitting at the Men in Black base every day — practically wearing out his chair.
Boom!
Suddenly, the door to Anton's office was thrown open.
"Director, the moon base just detected a spacecraft entering Earth's orbit—!"
Z rushed in, dark circles heavy under his eyes — a clear sign he hadn't slept properly in days.
Such was the fate of a humble worker.
"The spacecraft sent us a signal. It appears to be Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, and her group," Z reported breathlessly.
"The World Security Council has requested another meeting."
"Another meeting?"
Anton didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.
"Didn't I already tell them everything they need to know? I'm even here working now — what more do they want?"
"They're hoping to get firsthand information about the universe from Carol Danvers," Z explained.
"You know how it is — even though we can gather some intel from the interstellar network, most of it is either outdated or irrelevant. Carol's been in the universe for years, fighting against the Kree. She's built a reputation as 'Norda.' She might know things we can't find online... like deeper insights into Thanos himself."
At Z's words, Anton thought for a moment.
It was true — Carol wasn't the only one.
There was someone else beside her who probably knew Thanos better than anyone.
"Alright," Anton said, nodding.
"Pass this on to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Don't drag me into it. Since Carol is back, Nick Fury should be with her. Let him handle the World Security Council's questions. He's better suited to it than I am."
"Nick Fury?"
Z was taken aback.
After all, wasn't Nick Fury still officially wanted?
He had been branded Earth's first criminal for 'crimes against humanity' after collaborating with aliens.
"Yes," Anton said casually.
"You should have seen the classified files S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps. Carol Danvers' earliest contact on Earth was Nick Fury.
At the time, Fury was just a naive agent — a greenhorn who could throw a punch, nothing more.
If it weren't for Carol, there's no way someone like him would've survived long enough to become the 'Snake' he later was — unlike someone like Alexander Pierce, who was already lurking deep inside S.H.I.E.L.D."
"..."
Z digested this information, realizing how much of it was interconnected.
"Understood," he nodded.
"I'll inform the World Security Council."
Boom!
The door shut again as Z left.
After passing on Anton's instructions to the World Security Council, Z contacted S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coulson, who had just finished greeting Carol and the others after their arrival, took the call.
"This is Coulson," he answered.
"Hello, this is Z, Deputy Director of the Men in Black."
Their conversation was polite and professional.
Neither was a difficult person to deal with.
After understanding Z's request, Coulson paused and looked toward Carol and the others.
They had overheard enough of the conversation to guess what it was about.
He gave them an inquiring look.
Carol nodded.
"Alright," Coulson replied.
"I'll arrange it immediately."
After hanging up, he turned back to Carol.
"Do you really have special information?" he asked.
"We desperately need solid intel about this war. Otherwise, it feels like we're flying blind."
"I do," Carol said, nodding.
She gestured to Gamora, standing quietly beside her.
"She's Thanos' adopted daughter," Carol explained.
"She knows many of the Black Order's secrets — and a lot about Thanos himself."
After a slight pause, Carol added:
"Of course, the most critical piece of information isn't just about Thanos...
It's about when the Black Order is going to arrive on Earth."
"Time?"
Coulson immediately understood what Carol meant, his expression tightening with nervousness.
"In fact, we're running out of time," Carol said slowly.
"We've received word that Thanos' army has already been mobilized. In half a month, they will arrive in this galaxy."
"Half a month?!"
Coulson was stunned.
"So soon?!"
"Not only that," Carol continued, her tone heavy,
"I know you're building a base on the moon, planning to meet Thanos and his army there. But there's a serious problem — we can't stop Thanos from entering Earth directly."
"What do you mean?"
Coulson looked shocked.
"Our plan is to use overwhelming firepower, combined with Superman's presence, to force Thanos to confront us on the moon. Isn't that feasible?"
"The premise of your plan," Carol said, "is that Thanos will obediently travel through space and enter Earth's atmosphere the way you expect..."
At that moment, Gamora, standing beside Carol, spoke up:
"But have you ever considered that Thanos might not need to go through space to reach Earth?"
"If not through space, then how?"
Coulson asked, confused — but a chill was already creeping into his heart.
After Carol and Gamora's reminder, he realized they — and even Anton — might have overlooked something crucial.
"Magic," Gamora said plainly.
"Teleportation magic."
She continued:
"Even though three of the Black Order are dead, one still remains — Ebony Maw.
He might not be the strongest fighter, but he's the most troublesome to deal with.
Once they arrive in the galaxy, Ebony Maw can use a combination of technology and enchanted artifacts to greatly extend his teleportation range — especially near Earth.
He can open a space portal large enough for ships and entire armies to cross straight to Earth.
And for him, that's not a difficult task at all."
"...!"
Coulson sucked in a sharp breath.
He had completely overlooked this possibility.
Magic — especially teleportation magic — was an area he was almost entirely unfamiliar with.
He had never considered that Thanos could bypass their entire defensive plan.
…
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