I fell in Marvel with Essence Gacha but I’ve never heard of Marvel

Lex, Gwen, Kara, Donna, and Regina entered the Negative Zone through the device Lex had built. The moment they stepped through the portal, the atmosphere around them felt wrong. There was no immediate attack, no obvious threat waiting for them, yet something about the place seemed fundamentally different from the reality they were accustomed to. Even the air and the surrounding space seemed to carry an unnatural quality that was difficult to put into words.

“Something feels fundamentally wrong about this place,” Gwen pointed out, looking around as the portal closed behind them.

“Well, it's called the Negative Zone for a reason,” Kara replied with a shrug, apparently much less bothered by the strange atmosphere.

They seemed to have arrived on some sort of rocky planet. The ground beneath their feet was uneven and barren, stretching out into the distance with little more than rocks and strange formations breaking up the landscape. Regina, however, was already more interested in the environment than the scenery. She reached into her Storage Bag and pulled out a strange-looking machine, setting it down on the rocky ground before immediately beginning to work with it.

Lex watched her for a moment before curiosity got the better of him.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, Ultron was using electromagnetic waves to communicate before coming here, even if they were extremely secured. So I'm trying to see if I can find any strange patterns of electromagnetic waves around here. If there are, then we can follow them and at least find...” Regina's fingers moved across the machine as she adjusted something, her attention completely focused on the readings. “Oh, we found it.”

Everyone looked toward her.

Regina stared at the machine for another few seconds, her expression shifting from concentration to curiosity.

“Hmm... It's actually coming towards us, so maybe it found us.”

They didn't have to wait long.

Something appeared in the distance, moving across the rocky terrain toward them. As it drew closer, its metallic body became unmistakable.

An Ultron drone.

Lex raised an eyebrow before extending one hand toward it.

The drone suddenly accelerated toward him as Telekinesis seized its entire body, crossing the distance in an instant under an enormous force. Yet just before it could slam into Lex, the pressure changed, bringing it to a complete stop roughly a meter in front of him.

Lex simply reached into his Pocket Space and pulled out his Player's Handbook.

“Let's see what you've got.”

He used the Dismantling function, and the Ultron drone came apart under the Handbook's power, its components separating cleanly as Lex's attention focused on the information hidden within it. With Raphael assisting him, he was able to immediately access the data stored on its local data chip.

His expression slowly changed.

“Ultron has already left the Negative Zone.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Years ago, actually. At least according to these bots.”

Donna's shoulders dropped.

“So we just came here for nothing?”

“That's disappointing...” Kara muttered before looking at Lex. “Can't you, like, follow his trail or something?”

“Not really.” Lex looked around the strange landscape, then back toward the remains of the drone. “And we actually know almost nothing about the multiverse other than the fact that it exists. I don't even know what kind of trail we'd be looking for.”

Regina, meanwhile, seemed far less disappointed. Her attention had already shifted away from Ultron and toward the environment around them.

“Can I set up a little camp here? I'd like to study this place a bit more.”

Gwen looked around as well, clearly tempted.

“I'd like to as well, actually, but I already have a lot on my plate.”

“Actually, I was thinking of staying here for a month or two,” Lex said. “Technically, it won't even be a day outside.”

That changed the decision rather quickly.

Gwen, Kara, and Donna eventually left through the same portal they had entered from, leaving Lex and Regina behind in the Negative Zone. Regina had a genuine interest in studying the strange environment, while Lex figured that he might as well make use of the time. If two months here amounted to less than a day outside, there was little reason not to take advantage of it.

Lex used Build to create a castle for them, giving them somewhere comfortable to stay while Regina conducted her research.

Once the basic necessities were taken care of, Regina came to the same conclusion Lex had.

They had a lot of free time.

In a blur of the moment they jumped onto each other.

Two days of intense sex later, someone suddenly knocked on their door.

Lex, who had already gotten dressed, opened it and found Gwen standing on the other side.

“Didn't you just leave?” Lex asked, staring at her in confusion. “Did you forget something?”

Gwen stared back at him.

“Just leave? Did you hit your head or something? It's been two days on Earth, so it should be around twenty-two months here.”

Lex's expression immediately changed.

“What?”

“But it's also been two days here,” he replied.

Gwen frowned, and for a moment neither of them said anything.

“...Then did the Sorcerer Supreme lie to us?” Gwen wondered aloud. “But you checked that Ultron, right? And it had already left years ago...”

“Yeah.” Lex's expression hardened as he considered the implications. “There's definitely something off here. Let me get Regina first.”

He called Regina over, and after hearing the situation, she became thoughtful.

“Hmm... It is indeed strange.” She crossed her arms, considering the problem. “But time is always something that's very strange in the first place.”

<It may be possible that your existence as the Transcend Self is limiting time from dilating.>

Raphael's suggestion immediately caught Lex's attention.

He thought about it for a moment.

That actually made sense. His existence itself had become something fundamentally different from an ordinary person's. If Transcend Self prevented time manipulation and similar effects from functioning on him, perhaps the Negative Zone's unusual passage of time simply couldn't affect him at all. Time itself had to behave normally around his existence.

“Guys, I've got an idea. Place a clock here and let's go back. Then we'll come back after a minute and see what happens.”

“Why?” Gwen asked.

“Just trust me, okay?”

Gwen smiled faintly.

“I trust you.”

She reached into her Storage Bag, pulled out a clock, and placed it inside the castle before following Lex through the portal.

After about ten minutes, they returned.

The result confirmed Lex's hypothesis.

The clock had advanced by exactly the amount it should have.

Lex's existence—or even the presence of someone he had Blessed—was enough to prevent the Negative Zone's time dilation from affecting them.

“So it's because of the Time Manipulation immunity we all have?” Gwen wondered aloud. “Wouldn't that mean the time dilation here isn't natural?”

“Well...” Lex frowned. “I actually don't understand that power well enough to agree with that. The only other time I actually felt the Time Immunity act up was when Nexus Queen rewound time.”

“Can't you turn off the immunity? Or change it?” Regina asked.

“Not really. It's basically default stuff. Things like not being erased from reality, being retconned, manipulation of my timeline, stuff like that.” Lex shrugged. “But I can switch it off for you guys if you want.”

Gwen considered that for a moment before shaking her head.

“Well then it's useless. Let's just go back. We still need to find a way to track Ultron.”

She turned toward the portal, but Lex noticed that something was off.

“You seem quite bothered,” he said, stopping her. “Tired. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

There were no dark circles beneath Gwen's eyes, nor any of the physical signs of exhaustion that an ordinary person might show after pushing themselves for too long. Her Blessing made sure of that. But Lex had known her long enough to notice the subtle differences in her expression, the tension she carried in her face and the way her usual energy had been replaced by something much more focused.

“Have you seen Regan?” Gwen asked, her voice suddenly sharper. “She's in way worse condition.”

Lex remained silent.

“Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard for someone I've only come to know recently, but I can help her. She can't help herself.” Gwen's expression tightened. “So either help me find Ultron so we can get information about dimensions and rescue Monet, or don't bother consoling me.”

The words came out harsher than she intended.

Gwen's expression immediately softened.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out at you.” She looked away, visibly uncomfortable with herself. “I'm just not in the right mind right now.”

Before Lex could answer, she stepped through the portal and returned to Earth.

Lex didn't try to stop her.

He knew Gwen well enough to understand that words weren't going to help her right now. If she needed something, he would give her something. If she needed help finding Monet, he'd help her find Monet. That was far more useful than telling her everything would be fine.

Regina, meanwhile, merely shrugged before heading back toward the castle. She intended to remain in the Negative Zone for some time anyway, even without the time-dilation advantage. There was still an entire strange dimension around her to study.

Lex remained where he was, sitting on a rock and thinking.

<Using the World Travel Card for Marvel Earth-TRN454, it is possible to enter a different universe. That universe may contain information regarding dimensions as well, depending on the timeline. Gathering information regarding the fates of Natasha, Tony, and Wanda may also be possible. If necessary, using force will not result in much damage to your lifestyle, as this is a different timeline of Marvel. Furthermore, summoning Black Widow may also help in the case of infiltration on that Marvel Earth, as she can simply replace herself.>

Lex's eyes lit up.

Exactly.

Raphael always came through when he needed her.

First, summon Natasha.

Then, travel to an alternate Marvel universe.

The more he thought about it, the more useful the plan became. Natasha could potentially act as an infiltration asset in a universe where an alternate version of herself already existed, while the alternate world might contain information that could help Gwen with her investigation into dimensions. And if he could learn more about the fates of people like Tony and Wanda, that could potentially answer some of the questions raised by the Space Mall's quests as well.

Lex returned to the mansion and sent a message to everyone, letting them know that he was going to summon Natasha and that anyone who wanted to be there should come over.

Kara arrived almost immediately, appearing in a blur of movement.

Sharon replied that she'd be there in about an hour.

While he waited, Lex went into the garden and spent some time playing with Fluffy, occasionally wondering whether he should tell Jubilee about the whole not actually being from this world situation. She already knew that he could travel between worlds, so that part wasn't exactly a secret anymore. But this was not really his secret alone. It was the secret of everyone he had summoned, and Lex wasn't sure it was his place to reveal it to someone who hadn't been given that information by their own circumstances.

Eventually, Sharon arrived, accompanied by Donna, Kara, Gwen, and Grayfia.

Everyone who wanted to be present was now there.

Lex took out the Black Widow Character Card.

He didn't bother using the Background Creation Card with it. Natasha already existed in this universe, so there was no point creating another background for her.

He held the card between two fingers for a moment before tearing it.

The card disappeared.

A woman appeared in front of him.

She had red hair, though it was noticeably different from the Natasha Lex already knew. Her face was older and thinner, with the unmistakable signs of someone who had lived through years of hardship rather than simply possessing the appearance of a young woman. She wore the familiar black, form-fitting tactical clothing associated with the Black Widow Lex knew, though this version of Natasha carried herself with a tiredness that immediately made her seem different.

Lex stared at her for a moment.

He recognized her.

Not because she was identical to the Natasha he knew, but because she was unmistakably Natasha Romanoff from another point in her life.

More specifically, she looked like someone who had just come from the end of it.

“Hi, I'm Lex,” he introduced himself. “The one who summoned you here.”

Natasha looked at him for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face.

“Natasha. It's nice to meet you, Lex. Thanks for... everything.”

There was something strange about that smile.

It wasn't the smile of someone meeting a stranger for the first time.

It looked more like the expression of someone who had finally finished something after years of effort and had just walked out of the examination hall knowing, with absolute certainty, that they had given the right answers.

Lex noticed it.

He didn't question it.

He already knew that summoned people often received something from the Gacha before arriving, and whatever Natasha had experienced before appearing here was probably connected to that.

For now, he was simply glad she was here.