Drex Valen paid no attention to the shock spreading across the world after the battle.
The mont he returned, he released Hyperion from the pocket dinsion, used the Mind Stone to completely dominate his consciousness, and imdiately sent him to the Kryptonian Empire.
After all, Drex had more important things to focus on.
Specifically, neutron shield technology from Stellaris.
As everyone knew, the foundation of any energy shield ultimately traced back to the four fundantal forces of the universe.
Electromagnetism.
Weak nuclear force.
Strong nuclear force.
Gravity.
Gravity itself was too weak for compact shield systems unless massive celestial-scale objects were involved, making it largely impractical for small-scale defensive applications.
The strong nuclear force, however, was absurdly powerful.
It bound atomic nuclei together at incredibly short distances and was approximately 10³⁸ tis stronger than gravity at equivalent scales.
But there was a problem.
Anything reinforced directly through strong-force compression experienced a catastrophic increase in density and mass. If an infantry soldier tried to use a traditional strong-force energy shield, they'd probably beco too heavy to move the mont it activated.
Human civilizations in other universes had explored related concepts before.
Even the Terran Dominion battlecruisers from StarCraft utilized forms of strong-force reinforcent within their outer armor plating. That was one of the reasons crashing battlecruisers hit planets with the force of asteroid impacts.
The weak nuclear force, anwhile, was too limited for most practical applications. Its interaction range decayed far too quickly.
That left electromagnetism.
The easiest force to harness.
And one of the most versatile.
At first glance, electromagnetic shielding sounded straightforward.
But the deeper one studied the subject, the more complicated it beca.
After all, matter itself was inseparable from electromagnetic interaction.
Chemical reactions.
chanical motion.
Friction.
Elasticity.
Every physical interaction in ordinary life ultimately boiled down to electromagnetic exchanges between electrons and atomic structures.
Even a simple steel plate was, in a sense, a primitive energy shield.
Its atoms remained stable because of nuclear forces binding protons and neutrons together, while electromagnetic interactions maintained structural integrity at the molecular level.
Which ant most so-called "energy shields" weren't true force fields at all.
They were rely materials strengthened beyond their normal limits through energy reinforcent.
For Drex, however, complete mastery over electromagnetism made things far easier.
Creating a genuine neutron shield beca relatively trivial.
By locking neutrons into stabilized formations, he developed an almost indestructible defensive barrier and imdiately began implenting the technology across Kryptonian vessels.
The Kryptonian Empire no longer relied heavily on warships for combat now that Ultran existed, but ships still handled transportation, logistics, exploration, and civilian operations.
And with Ravagers constantly roaming the galaxy, additional protection was never a bad idea.
More importantly, neutron shields could scale upward.
Planetary defense umbrellas.
Anti-invasion barriers.
Protection against planet-killer weapons.
Orbital interdiction systems.
The applications were endless.
Drex then refined the technology even further using newly acquired Kryptonian scientific knowledge.
Traditional neutron-density materials suffered from absurd mass issues because their atomic spacing collapsed inward.
Drex bypassed that limitation entirely.
Instead of compressing matter into neutron-star density, he developed force-field generators capable of extending strong nuclear interactions beyond normal atomic boundaries. The technology allowed the strong force to "overflow" outward to neutron-scale ranges without increasing overall density.
The result was revolutionary.
The shields retained the normal mass of their base materials, such as Adamantium and Vibranium, instead of weighing as much as miniature neutron stars.
Back when Drex first experinted with neutron-star materials, he lacked the scientific foundation to avoid those flaws.
Now he could.
Indestructible neutron-shield armor had beco theoretically possible.
Unless, of course, the attacker happened to be a monster capable of casually violating the four fundantal forces themselves.
Soone like Drex Valen.
Unfortunately, he no longer needed armor personally.
Only after finishing the neutron shield project did Drex finally return his attention to Hyperion.
Multiversal travel wasn't particularly unusual in Marvel realities.
Entire groups had crossed universes before. The Hulk Gang was one famous example, and alternate versions of Earth-616 practically collected dinsional visitors like souvenirs.
Drex wasn't especially interested in the chanics of universe-hopping.
Nor did he have any desire to abandon his current universe.
He had spent far too long building his empire here.
Starting over sowhere else sounded annoying.
What interested him was why Hyperion had crossed universes in the first place.
And more importantly…
Where was this universe's own Hyperion?
Drex leaned back thoughtfully.
Just imagining future battlefields almost made him smile.
Him sitting casually on a throne while surrounded by the "Four Supern."
Two Hyperions.
Gladiator.
Captain Marvel.
Add Sentry and Blue Marvel if possible.
At that point, very few forces in existence could survive direct confrontation with that lineup.
Under the Mind Stone's influence, Hyperion held nothing back.
According to him, he had fled from Earth-6666 because life there had beco impossible.
One man was responsible.
Sentry.
Not the unstable version plagued by the Void personality.
This Sentry was different.
Completely different.
A perfect superhuman.
Confident.
Heroic.
Righteous.
Radiant.
He had personally exterminated every criminal and supervillain on Earth and obliterated every alien invasion force that dared approach the planet.
Based on Hyperion's mories, Drex concluded this Sentry had never developed the Void persona at all.
Which honestly made him more suspicious, not less.
"Behind every light hides darkness," Drex said calmly. "Perfect people don't exist."
If this Sentry truly wasn't a drug addict, psychopath, or hypocrite, then maybe the serum should've gone to Steve Rogers instead.
Hyperion admitted he simply couldn't survive in that kind of world.
He wasn't a pure hero.
Eventually, Sentry beat him half to death.
Later, Hyperion accidentally discovered a device capable of traveling between universes. His logic had been simple.
Surely not every universe had a Sentry.
Unfortunately for him, the first universe he arrived in contained soone even more terrifying.
At least from Hyperion's perspective, Drex Valen was stronger than Sentry.
Drex rested his chin against one hand thoughtfully.
"So crossing universes is this easy now?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like my universe is full of holes too."
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