Ethan looked at the tube of viscous solution, which was difficult to describe, and with a flip of his hand, put it into his storage space.
It contained a lot of good stuff, and he was certain it could achieve his goal, but it was a bit troublesome to use. He needed to borrow a special power to fully unleash the potion's effects.
It was precisely for this purpose that he planned to take a trip to the world of Arrow.
By the time he was done, it was already dinner.
Tony returned with Pepper. When she heard that their next destination, the world of Arrow, was a North American metropolis, Pepper immediately lost interest. In comparison, she was more interested in Ethan's ship, the Artemis.
"Can I take a look around later?"
"You are welcome to look around freely."
Pepper knew most of the people on Ethan's ship. The few she did not know did not matter. Maria Hill, a compatriot from the same world as Pepper, could act as her guide and show her all the interesting things on the spaceship and in the universe.
After dinner, Ethan first sent Modred away. He did not choose a specific landing location. He did not even know where he dropped Modred, calling out, the test begins now, good luck.
Then he left without looking back. As for how Modred would begin, he did not care.
Once Modred completed the test, he could get a very detailed report from Galahad, so there was no rush.
Modred departed, and Annette took Sherry back to the world of Resident Evil. Adding Evelyn, who went to the world of Starship Troopers, everyone was once again scattered across various worlds. Even those who stayed on the ship had their own tasks, such as Nebula and Betty, who began collecting data and observing the planets they were about to visit or planned to check out later.
"We will be staying there for quite a while this time, so you had better be mentally prepared."
Before departing, Ethan gave Tony a heads up.
This time was different from their trip to the Transformers world. Back then, they messed around for a while and left. This time, the stay could last years.
"No problem."
When she heard years, Pepper hesitated about going along, but after thinking about it, she decided against it. She did not want to monitor him too closely. Letting Tony go out and relax a bit was fine.
The two of them would have plenty of time together in the future. Now that their lives were extended, a few years meant nothing.
As for whether Tony would revert to his playboy nature without supervision, Pepper chose not to dwell on it. Thinking about such things would only make her unhappy.
"Since you are ready, let us go."
Ethan glanced at Ada beside him. Ada was straightening her clothes. When she noticed Ethan looking, she nodded. Then she felt her vision blur, and her surroundings changed into a modern metropolis.
"Your teleportation magic is getting better and better."
There was no energy fluctuation at all, which meant Ethan's control over energy was perfect. Not a single bit leaked out. There was also no discomfort during teleportation, as if they had not moved at all.
"I use it every now and then. It is hard to do it badly."
Ethan looked around. They had arrived in Star City, the territory of Arrow. These superheroes were practically like gangs, very protective of their turf, not allowing outsiders to interfere. Even if other superheroes came over, they would be ostracized or even attacked by the local hero.
In this situation, finding a city's protector was simple. Just show off some special abilities and they would come to you.
Unfortunately, that method was not applicable right now. Ethan had brought Tony to the beginning of the storyline, the time when Oliver Queen had just been rescued and returned to Star City. At this point, although Oliver had finished leveling up and transformed from a playboy into a warrior with formidable combat power, he had not yet become Arrow, the protector of Star City.
"We will have to wait a while. Arrow has not been born yet."
"..."
"Why come so early?"
Ethan definitely had the ability to choose the landing time. He could have chosen a slightly later point.
"It is a habit."
Every time Ethan traveled to a world, he chose to land at the point when the story had just begun. Over time, it had become a habit.
"It is already good. Luckily, I still remember some details and did not choose the very beginning. Otherwise, we would have gone to the time when Oliver and his father were shipwrecked. If we had gone there, we would need to wait several years to see Arrow."
Tony shook his head speechlessly. He immediately had JARVIS create complete identities for them and prepared to find a place to stay.
Star City was a large city. Although the current situation was not great, with high unemployment, high crime rates in the slums, and poor public safety, as a large city, it still had everything needed, including high end hotels with good environments.
After checking in, the first thing Ethan did was turn on the television. From the news reports, he could determine the current time.
The news reported that Oliver Queen had been rescued after being missing for five years and had returned to Star City, and that his father, Robert Queen, had also been confirmed dead. Ethan knew exactly what point in time they were in.
"It looks like we will not have to wait too long."
Tony also knew the general setting of Arrow. After Oliver's shipwreck, disappearance, and return, Arrow would soon begin acting in this city.
He just wanted to meet Arrow, chat casually, and maybe show off a bit, satisfying his curiosity and vanity.
Now he was more curious about what Ethan wanted from this world. He did not think Oliver had anything Ethan needed. Arrow was an ordinary human who, after rigorous training and mastering combat skills, became an excellent warrior. His fighting style relied mainly on cold weapons, although some of them had decent technological content.
But that was all. That level of technology would not interest Ethan.
As for the mystical side, Arrow did gain a bit of mystical power later, but that tiny amount was nothing compared to the knowledge Ethan possessed. Even his disciple Wanda knew more than Oliver.
"Now you can tell me what you are after, right?"
"The Speed Force."
There was nothing to hide. For the potion Ethan made to have its maximum effect, it needed the Speed Force, a magical power that shattered all physical laws.
"The Speed Force?" Tony was stunned. He had not expected that. "Isn't that the Flash's power? I thought this was the world of Arrow?"
This was indeed not just the world of Arrow. Because the series was popular, the producers expanded the universe and created various spin offs.
Spin offs like The Flash and Supergirl were all part of the same universe, officially named the Arrowverse. Like the DC Extended Universe and the DC Comics Universe, it was considered a parallel universe.
This was why Ethan chose to enter through Arrow instead of The Flash, because from a cosmic perspective, this universe was Arrow's world.
"This world does not just have Arrow. In the near future, The Flash will appear, and that is my target."
Ethan carefully recalled the timeline. He remembered that Barry Allen would not appear for at least a year and a half, and becoming The Flash would take at least two years. He regretted coming too early.
"Who else is in this world?"
"The Atom."
The Atom was a minor character in this world, not worth mentioning. The one truly worth noting was Supergirl, located on a parallel Earth. The Arrowverse contained multiple worlds with a parallel universe structure, and Supergirl belonged to another Earth, not the same one as Arrow and The Flash.
"What about Bruce Wayne?"
"He exists... I guess..."
Originally, he thought Batman did not exist in this world, but later in the plot, it was mentioned that he did. It was just that this world's Batman had gone on strike and existed only as background setting.
Tony tapped his fingers together. From his expression, it was obvious he was considering whether to bother Batman.
"It sounds like this world is quite vast. Does that mean there are many special resources here?"
"Pretty much."
Besides the Speed Force, you could also find Kryptonite in this world, though you had to go to Supergirl's Earth. Additionally, there were enhancement serums like Mirakuru and all sorts of strange things.
Ethan suddenly remembered that Caitlin and Cisco from The Flash's team were like cheat codes. They could create powerful items and potions just by deciding to, including a potion that allowed ordinary people to use the Speed Force. It just had significant side effects.
Ethan was interested in these things. If possible, he would take all of them.
With his targets clear, the next step was to figure out how to proceed.
If he were someone without morals, getting these things would be simple, he would just take them.
Unfortunately, although Ethan often seemed unreliable, his moral compass had always stayed true, so obtaining these items would require effort.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)