"Damn it, Tony, now's not the time for this!
There are way too many people watching. We need to hide!"
As he fled, Captain America shouted through the comms beneath his mask.
The group fell silent for a moment before Banner spoke first.
"According to the original plan, I was supposed to go to Doctor Strange and get the Time Stone, so let's all head to Strange's place!
He can see through the future, so maybe we'll be able to talk this through properly!
Most importantly, his Sanctum is very well hidden!"
"Right!" Captain America immediately agreed. "Then we'll go to Strange's place. What's the address?"
"177A Bleecker Street, move!"
With a destination in mind, the four of them immediately sprinted toward Bleecker Street.
Only Ant-Man, while running, asked in confusion, "Seriously, do we have to do this on foot? Why don't we just get a car?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the others, even while escaping, could not help but roll their eyes at him.
"What made you think we'd ever do something like steal a car, Scott?" Captain America asked as he ran.
But Scott clearly did not understand where Cap was coming from.
"We're saving the world, for Christ's sake! A car could save us a lot of time!"
The instant he finished speaking, Captain America shook his head and explained, "Yes, we're trying to save the world, but even so, we still don't have the right to ruin someone else's life!"
The moment he said that, Tony immediately snorted in annoyance and started mocking him.
"Look at that. That's Captain America for you, always talking like he lives in some utopia.
Back then, I suggested putting an Iron Man armor system around the whole world. I also suggested that we stop being reactive Avengers and start taking the initiative!
I said we couldn't afford to stay so loose. We needed to restrict the heroes' freedom, arm them, and make them stronger!
If he'd done even one of those things, we might not have lost to that damn Thanos!
I fucking love this big-ass saint, Sam-of-a-bitch!"
"Hey, Tony, stop it!"
Banner cut him off, clearly unhappy.
"I get how you feel, Tony. My mind's a mess too!
Each of us only has enough Pym Particles for one round trip. If we really messed this up, then we'll lose our chance to fix it!
But no matter what, we have to work together. At least this time, we have to!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Banner stopped caring what the others thought. He opened both arms and swept all of them into a hug.
"You little babies are way too slow. I'll take you there!!!"
"Damn it, keep Maria's face away from me!"
Tony shouted weakly, but Banner paid him no attention at all. Hugging the three of them, he leaped into the air, clearing three to four hundred meters in one bound.
After only a few jumps, 177A Bleecker Street had already come into view.
Boom!
Banner landed heavily on the roof of the Ancient One's house, making the Ancient One, who had been reading in her study, frown slightly.
She glanced up at the ceiling over her head, sighed helplessly, and set down the newly revised 2008 edition of Interpretation of Black Magic, recently published by the European dark magic community.
On the other side, Banner set Captain America and the other two down on the rooftop. From that height, the group could clearly see the bustling construction site in the distance at Central Park.
Sensing that the atmosphere was a little too cold, Banner thought for a moment and laughed.
"Whoa, there's an extra statue in this version of Central Park. Tony, at least this one isn't you. Hah!"
"Whatever. I'm more concerned about what's going on in this world."
Tony frowned as he spoke.
"You guys go find Strange. I'm going to link into the internet and figure out what's changed in this world."
"Right." Captain America nodded. "Find out what's changed as fast as you can. I'll knock."
As he spoke, he walked over to the attic door of the building and raised his hand to knock.
But before he could do it, a calm female voice drifted over from not far away.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that. It could be dangerous for all of you.
Also, I just waxed the roof, so watch your step."
The moment her voice fell, all of them, including Tony, who had been trying to look up information, turned toward the source of the sound.
The Ancient One was standing beside the morning glories she had planted, smiling faintly at the four of them.
"I can see surprise in your eyes, which means the person you came to find is not me. So, who is it you wish to see?"
The instant she finished speaking, Hulk lowered his head and thought for a moment.
A few seconds later, while cracking his joints with heavy movements, he walked toward the Ancient One and said, "We need to see Doctor Strange!"
"Oh."
The Ancient One nodded in understanding, and the group immediately brightened.
But right after that, she shook her head.
"If you're looking for Strange, then you've come five years too early."
As she spoke, she raised her right hand and pointed toward Queens in the distance.
"He's currently twenty-two blocks away, performing surgery at a hospital."
...
The entire rooftop fell completely silent.
Tony and the others looked at each other, each more stunned than the next.
After a while, Tony finally shook his head helplessly.
"All right, that bastard never told us that. I thought he'd been a sorcerer for ages."
"Among us, he is the one who enjoys toying with time the most, and he is also the one most skilled at it.
So you may not actually be wrong. Even if only a few years have passed for him, he has already accumulated thousands of years inside the timeline. Naturally, when people look at him, they feel that he is much older than he appears."
The Ancient One smiled as she explained on Strange's behalf.
Hearing that, Tony thought about it for a moment.
"Among us?
You mean you're the Sorcerer Supreme too?"
"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am the current Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One."
"Hah. If I were you, I wouldn't be happy about that, because our arrival means Earth's future is headed for total destruction."
Tony immediately pushed the conversation toward the real issue. As he spoke, he walked toward the Ancient One.
"I don't know whether you've seen it already, but our future is not pretty. If we want to save that future, then we need the Time Stone hanging around your neck."
"Hm?"
The Ancient One frowned at once. She raised her right hand, signaling Tony to stop where he was, then said coldly, "I'm sorry, but that is your future, not ours.
The moment you entered this universe, my universe separated from the original timeline and became a new branch of the multiverse.
And I am the current Sorcerer Supreme, as well as the guardian of the Eye of Agamotto.
So I cannot hand the Stone over to you."
As soon as she finished, Tony clicked his tongue and glanced behind himself.
Behind him, Hulk gave him a reassuring look.
Then Hulk stepped forward, moving past everyone else, assuming a fighting stance as he confidently approached the Ancient One.
"That doesn't get to be your choice."
As he said that, he planted himself before her with absolute confidence, convinced he had the ability to take the Stone from her.
As for whether that counted as robbery, well, it was all for the sake of saving the world. Other than Captain America, everyone else could understand that logic.
As long as they returned it afterward, it would be fine.
That was the dream, anyway.
Reality was a different matter.
The Ancient One lightly pushed out one palm, striking Hulk in the chest with an attack that seemed to contain no force at all.
Boom!!!
There was barely any sound, yet it rang like a great bell in everyone's minds. Tony and the others froze where they stood, stunned into silence, while Banner...
His soul had already been knocked out of Hulk's body, drifting above the Ancient One's rooftop.
This time, the atmosphere really did go completely still.
Captain America looked helplessly from one person to another, but everyone else had already gone speechless.
So in the end, he could only personally speak up and plead with the Ancient One.
"Ancient One, I think we've made a serious mistake. But I hope you'll give us a little time to explain.
We really do need the Time Stone."
"Hm. I can give you time to explain, but the Time Stone is out of the question."
As she spoke, the Ancient One turned and opened the attic door, stepping inside first.
Captain America followed behind her and continued, "Also, our time travel seems to have gone a bit wrong, and we'd like to hide here for a while.
I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused you, but we'll find a way to make it up to you."
"It's no trouble. Come with me. And that big one is called Hulk, right? He can just float in."
As she spoke, the Ancient One led them into the meditation chamber that belonged solely to her within the New York Sanctum, then personally poured each of them a cup of tea.
Banner's soul sat in front of the tea with a completely bewildered expression, having no idea how he was even supposed to drink it. Seeing that, the Ancient One raised a hand in invitation.
"Please, have some tea. And while you're at it, tell me what happened."
"Thank you."
Captain America answered, then began explaining everything, from Thanos, to time travel, to their need for the Infinity Stones, and the plan they had come up with.
During that process, Tony used his AI, Friday, to rapidly hack into the global network and carry out a comprehensive search on the current world.
The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.
By the end, his face had gone so pale it looked like paper.
And by then, Captain America had also finished telling the Ancient One about the future. After thinking for a moment, she finally gave her answer.
"I understand now.
Strange indicated that there was only one way to defeat Thanos, so he handed over the Stone and willingly accepted death. And you believe this is the one path he foresaw, correct?"
As she spoke, she raised her right hand, and the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone, floated swiftly into her palm.
"Strange truly is the one among us with the best grasp of the future. If matters were only as simple as that, I might agree to hand the Stone over to you.
But unfortunately, the world is different now. As for the Stone, a friend of mine may have a different opinion.
So before I decide anything, I need to hear his thoughts.
If you have the time, I may be able to take you to meet him.
But I ask that you show him enough respect. His temper is not very good."
The moment she finished, Tony immediately asked in a tense voice, "The person you're talking about... is it Heisenberg?"
"Yes." The Ancient One nodded.
Bang!
Tony slammed his hand down on the table.
"This is so fucking absurd!!!"
He surged to his feet, his face filled with unwillingness and pain as he shouted at the Ancient One, "Why was there never a freakishly overpowered bastard like that in my world?!
If we had him, if we had him... then we...
Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!"
By the time he reached the end, Tony was almost in tears. He dropped back into his chair and furiously rubbed at his beard.
Beside him, Captain America and the others had no idea why Tony had suddenly exploded like this.
But taking Tony's unstable state into consideration, they turned toward the Ancient One and asked, "Ancient One, this Heisenberg... who exactly is he?"
Before the Ancient One could answer, Tony slammed the table again.
"He's fucking Superman from the comics, a goddamn Kryptonian stranded on Earth!
And not just that, he's the kind of monster who knocked Hulk out in three punches, took down Loki in one move, and crushed Thor's hammer out of shape with his bare hands. A complete fucking nightmare who never appeared in our universe!"
As soon as he finished, Tony clamped his hand tightly over his own mouth. His voice had already begun to choke.
"If he'd been on Titan with us, then Peter...
This goddamn fate is so fucking rotten!!!"
/-\
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