The moment they stepped into the villa, before Heisenberg even had time to sit down, an elegant, gentle mechanical voice rang out from every direction.
"Lord Heisenberg, you leave me bewildered, for I have never seen a life-form as great as you."
"Wow!!!"
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s flattery instantly put Heisenberg in high spirits.
"I really didn't expect you to think that highly of me. Thanks, J.A.R.V.I.S.!"
He laughed and walked over to the sofa, choosing a seat he liked before settling down.
As usual, the Ancient One sat beside him. If one ignored the fact that this was only their second meeting, the tacit understanding between the two of them was almost like they had lived together for thousands of years.
Heisenberg casually lifted a hand, and countless bottles of fine liquor flew straight out of the refrigerator in the kitchen behind them.
He picked a bottle of bourbon, his favorite.
The Ancient One clapped her hands lightly, and a small white ceramic teacup instantly appeared in her palm.
At the same time, the cup that had been empty just a moment ago quickly filled itself with Tieguanyin tea out of thin air.
As for the other drinks, they drifted gracefully over to the rest of the group, letting everyone choose for themselves.
Looking at the overwhelming aura of sheer style those two radiated...
Everyone was stunned, at the very least!
Thud!
Just then, Tony and Pepper landed abruptly, and their faceplates snapped open at once.
Tony immediately turned to Heisenberg and asked, "That surprise of yours was way too much. I almost got scared to death!"
"Mm-hm. But you're not dead yet, are you?"
Heisenberg smiled, and that expression made Tony grit his teeth in speechless frustration.
He turned away and stopped bothering with the damned Heisenberg, instead fixing a hard stare on the Iron Man in the white quantum suit standing before him.
Tony suddenly raised his right hand, aiming the repulsor in his palm straight at Iron Man's head.
"So what exactly are you supposed to be? A clone, a copy, or some bastard disguised as me?"
"Wow, wow, wow. That's my favorite move, but you're a lot dumber than I am, because not a single one of your guesses is right."
Iron Man paid him no mind at all and casually reached for a bottle of rum nearby.
The moment he chose it, the bottle popped open on its own.
Looking at the mysteriously uncorked bottle, Iron Man glanced thoughtfully toward Heisenberg.
Heisenberg merely raised a hand at him.
Iron Man nodded in understanding, while silently raising his estimate of Heisenberg's power yet again.
This guy was not just absurdly strong on a large scale. His fine control was just as terrifying. Clearly, he had developed his abilities to an extraordinarily deep level.
At this point, in Iron Man's mind, Heisenberg had become a fully matured Superman!
So who could beat Superman?
Was he supposed to start making kryptonite later?
The key problem was, what was kryptonite even based on?
Was he supposed to build it by reading comics?
What a joke!
Thinking that, he took a huge swallow of liquor, then smiled at the hostile Tony.
"If I were you, Tony, then I'd definitely kill me, because no one can stand there being a second version of themselves in the world!"
As he spoke, Iron Man could not help but look at Pepper with deep emotion.
That look instantly made Tony explode.
"Where are you looking? Eyes off!"
"Hahaha, Pepper, see that?
I'm such a bastard that even the future version of me doesn't get to look at you too long, hahaha!"
Iron Man immediately laughed. Then, in a completely natural tone, he said to J.A.R.V.I.S., "If I remember right, there are still two bottles of Martell in the wine cellar that my dad left behind. Bring one out.
Today really is a good day for a drink, right, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"Of course, Mr. Stark."
J.A.R.V.I.S. readily obeyed, and that obedient response left Tony even more depressed.
"For God's sake, J.A.R.V.I.S., can you not tell which one of us is real? Why are you taking orders from him?"
Tony shouted at J.A.R.V.I.S., and J.A.R.V.I.S. responded innocently, "The facts leave me confused, Mr. Stark, but my analysis tells me that you are the younger Mr. Stark, while he is Mr. Stark fifteen years older and more worn.
I will serve Mr. Stark. I always will."
The moment those words fell, both Starks froze, then exchanged a glance full of complicated emotion.
At the same time, mechanical arms all throughout the house began moving back and forth, and before long, they brought over the Martell Iron Man had asked for.
The moment he saw the wine he wanted, Iron Man smiled excitedly at Tony.
"One of my two bottles was opened at my wedding with Pepper. The other was opened the day our daughter was born, so I think today is a pretty damn good day to open one too!"
At that point, Tony more or less understood where Iron Man had come from, so he strode over in irritation and opened the Martell together with him.
Heisenberg waved a hand, and wine glasses floated over to the group. Hill took them and handed them around, while Tony personally poured a drink for everyone.
When he reached Heisenberg and the Ancient One, Heisenberg smiled at her, while the Ancient One lightly tapped the teacup in her hand with a finger.
In the blink of an eye, the teacup became a wine glass, and the Ancient One said softly, "I've grown tired of the taste of this tea."
"Hahaha, then have another drink. Don't let everything you've been through erase who you really are!"
As he spoke, the two of them filled their glasses. Then the whole group gathered together, each one weighed down with their own thoughts, and raised their cups.
At that moment, everyone still standing looked toward Heisenberg and the Ancient One, who remained seated, as if waiting for one of them to say something.
So Heisenberg lifted his glass and nodded to the group.
"Today has been the most interesting day I've had on this planet. A toast to Tony and Pepper's love, and a toast to the meeting of two different times.
Cheers!"
"Cheers!!!"
After everyone drank, the atmosphere at last eased up, if only a little.
Heisenberg set down his glass, crossed his right leg over his left knee, and calmly said to the room, "Sit down. Don't be so serious. Don't you think what's happened today is actually pretty interesting?"
"Interesting my ass!"
Tony dragged Pepper over in displeasure and sat down on the sofa to Heisenberg's right.
The future Avengers group of four sat across from Heisenberg, while Rogers and Hill took the seats opposite Tony.
"Oh, right!"
The Ancient One suddenly remembered something and lightly clapped her hands.
In an instant, soul-state Banner finally became visible to everyone.
"Wow!"
"Holy hell, I really am seeing ghosts!!!"
Putting aside the shock in Tony's and Rogers's hearts, Heisenberg looked toward Captain America's group and said, "Now it's your turn. Tell us what exactly happened to you."
"Okay!"
Captain America nodded seriously. He knew this was his biggest chance.
So, as he began to explain from the beginning, their story finally unfolded before Tony, Hill, and the others.
A long while later...
By the time Captain America spoke his final word, both Hill and Rogers sucked in a sharp breath!
"Half the people on future Earth vanished into thin air?!!" That was Captain America.
"You traveled back to our era to take the Infinity Stones?" That was Hill.
"Today was supposed to be the day the Chitauri invaded New York???" That was Tony!
"Your future doesn't have Heisenberg? That's really tragic, isn't it?!!" That was... Pepper.
The instant Pepper said that last line, both Tony and Iron Man went green in the face.
The two exchanged a helpless look, and Iron Man subtly jerked his chin in Heisenberg's direction.
A silent conversation began...
"Something's off with them!"
"The hell do you mean they're off? You're the one who's off!"
"Okay, as long as you know that."
"Bullshit. Nobody's taking my goddess from me!"
Silent conversation over...
Iron Man's face immediately darkened, and Tony's expression did not look any better.
Tony clapped his hands sharply in annoyance.
"Guys, I suddenly don't believe you all that much.
Because you're actually telling me I joined that little goody-two-shoes club?
How the hell would I ever join something that childish?"
"It's the Avengers, Tony!" Captain America corrected seriously.
The moment he finished speaking, Rogers frowned and said to them, "No. The Avengers Initiative was canceled long ago, and Nick Fury already died in Hydra's internal conflict.
That future you're talking about sounds to me like a made-up story built around a world without Heisenberg. I seriously doubt who you really are!
And there's no way I'd ever put on some 1930s outfit like yours and walk around the streets of 2012 fighting aliens!"
"Dammit!"
Captain America was so frustrated he could have died on the spot. He stood up, slapping his old-fashioned Captain America uniform as he did.
"This was our shared decision, putting on this uniform to fight for New York and America, to remind them of the spirit of the past!"
"There!"
Rogers immediately seized on that.
"I would never fight for America the way he says. What I've always fought for is freedom and equality. I've fought for every oppressed person in the entire world!"
Hearing that, Captain America looked even more miserable.
"Sorry, I misspoke. But you all understand what I mean.
Maybe our lives and experiences have made the two of us different right now, but that doesn't mean the future we went through is fake!"
"That much is true," Heisenberg suddenly cut in!
The moment he spoke, everyone turned to look at him, and he continued, "My friend here has already given me precise information.
Tony, Rogers, Hill, Pepper!
Those four men sitting across from you, looking like the whole world owes them money, really are from another time and space!
Or more accurately, they come from another time within another parallel universe!"
At that point, the Ancient One picked up where he left off and continued explaining to everyone, "The uncertainty and mutability of time are things no being short of an omnipotent god can ever fully grasp.
But I can assure you, there is no need to doubt who they are."
"I'm not doubting who they are. I knew the second I saw him that that bastard was definitely the future me!" Tony immediately shot back. "So, future me, when you said Pepper and I have a daughter, that's real, right?"
The moment he said that, Pepper helplessly pressed her lips together. Her man really did have an absurdly big heart.
She pinched Tony's arm and whispered, "Don't ask that right now. The future is falling apart, and you're asking about a daughter?"
"Hahaha, Pepper, our daughter is the most important thing there is. Tony Stark is going to have a daughter, hahaha!!!"
Tony looked completely unconcerned with the future tragedy as he celebrated the fact that he was apparently going to have a daughter.
Seeing Tony act like this, Captain America, Ant-Man, and Banner all stared blankly at Iron Man.
Iron Man did not even look at them. Instead, he barked at the overexcited Tony, "Why the hell are you so happy? That's my daughter. My daughter!!!"
"Get lost!"
Tony immediately glared back, while Iron Man rose to his feet and squared off against him.
Beside them, Captain America and Rogers were both at a complete loss. Each of them forced one Tony back into his seat.
At this point, logically speaking, the real conversation could finally begin.
And Miss Hill chose that exact moment to speak.
She nodded with a grave expression.
"I understand the suffering you've all gone through.
Without Fury, I'll work even harder to prevent that future from ever happening!
And also, Banner, you've really given so much. I truly appreciate what you've done for the world."
As she spoke, she looked at Banner with heartfelt sorrow.
"Captain America, Iron Man, and this friend whose name I still don't know, all of you are at least still alive.
But you..."
Her voice was filled with sincerity, the kind of polished sincerity she had trained for many years to project.
"Only your soul remains. That means you made the greatest sacrifice of all for this world!
Banner, you are the person I admire most!"
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)