The rainbow pillar of light vanished into the void—and with it, Lin Fan.
Ebony Maw and Supergiant burst into the Bridge's control room, their faces taut with panic. "Your Highness is *gone*!" Supergiant hissed, claws scraping the empty air where Lin Fan had stood.
Maw's eyes darted to the dormant control panel. "No… He activated the Bridge. He's somewhere in the Nine Realms now." His voice wavered, betraying fear. *Without their master, the Dark Quadrant's factions would turn on each other like starving wolves.*
A golden flicker cut through the tension.
A **Psionic clone** of Lin Fan materialized, its form woven from the Mind Stone's energy. "Calm yourselves," it intoned, echoing Lin Fan's voice. "The connection remains. He is unharmed."
The clone's gaze swept the room, silencing unspoken rivalries. Maw and Supergiant bowed, but their sidelong glances at each other spoke volumes. *Chaos simmered.*
---
**Earth. San Francisco. Midnight.**
The rainbow light deposited Lin Fan atop a skyscraper, the city's neon glow painting his silhouette. He exhaled, dispelling the disorientation of interdimensional travel.
*"Earth…"*
Home—yet not *his* home. This world thrived with heroes, villains, and two untouched Infinity Stones. A hunt awaited.
He raised a hand, summoning the Mind Stone's power to reactivate the Bridge. Golden energy crackled around his fingers—but the Rainbow Bridge refused to answer.
*"Annoying,"* Lin Fan muttered. *Odin's safeguards? Or the Bridge's own whims?* No matter. If return was barred, he'd carve a new path. *Perhaps via SHIELD's Tesseract…*
A flicker of movement caught his eye.
---
A figure vaulted between rooftops, propelled by **violet energy beams** that lashed like whips. Lin Fan's lips curled. *Mutant. Telekinetic.*
He soared after her, silent as shadow. Up close, she was unmistakable: **Psylocke**.
Betsy Braddock's katana gleamed under moonlight, her psychic energy coiling around her fists. She moved like a specter—graceful, lethal.
Lin Fan landed before her, blocking her path. "Interesting power," he mused.
Psylocke's eyes narrowed. "You're not one of *them* and why are you pink?." Her psychic blade flared. "Who sent you?"
"No one." Lin Fan's grin sharpened. "And I'm an alien"
---