"What do you think of this European style?"
"It looks like it has a worn-down feel from the last century..."
"Like Sherlock Holmes?"
"Yes... that's exactly the feeling..."
"What about the pastoral style? I can live here after I retire."
"First, you have to buy the land."
"Maybe I should give Barton a call."
Stark leaned lazily against the sofa, stroking the sexy mustache on his chin. Pepper snuggled beside him. The two of them were thinking about where they would live after retiring.
"I've felt a lot more stable recently. To be honest, I haven't felt this comfortable in a long time. There are terrorist attacks in New York every month. That Adelina two months ago..."
"It's Adrian," Pepper said charmingly, peeling an apple and handing it directly to Stark. "You can't even remember his name, even though he was the criminal who robbed you."
"I can't even remember the president's name, and I'm still called a criminal." Stark took a big bite of the apple. It was juicy and refreshing.
"Ross asked you to go to the Middle East to stop the war. Too many people have died there." Pepper handed him a grape and gently stuffed it into his mouth.
"Reject him," Stark sneered, giving the Secretary of State no face at all. "Why should we stop the war they started? They caused a mess, lost control of it, and now they want to blame the Avengers? We signed an agreement to participate only in United Nations operations that benefit the world."
"Who does he think he is? This isn't the only country in the world. The major country in the Far East and the bear in the far north haven't even spoken yet. The United States doesn't have absolute authority."
"What do you think the captain will think?"
"Hmph... mostly that he wants to maintain world peace with some naive ideal. He'll have complicated emotions, torn and struggling inside, and regret what he's done." Deep down, Stark still disliked the captain's tolerant policies. "He's only cold-blooded toward HYDRA."
"But I believe he won't step forward. Steve is a hero, but he isn't a blind hero. He knows right from wrong. He's just a little naive."
Stark smiled as he answered. He was very confident in his friend. Steve would never help outsiders blindly. He understood the captain's character very well.
Pepper leaned against Stark, silently agreeing with his words. "When you truly retire, you may be able to stay away from the political center."
When Stark heard this, he suddenly felt sad. Guilt surged up from the bottom of his heart. Pepper had been with him for more than ten years. When he was kidnapped, after he became Iron Man, when he pushed the nuclear missile into space... every time, he had risked his life, but he had forgotten that there was a woman waiting behind him.
"Happy! Bring that thing up..." Stark thought for a moment and called Happy. He wanted to accomplish that feat, the feat every man should accomplish.
"What? Did you buy a new set of hang gliders?" Pepper looked at him doubtfully.
"You'll know in a moment..."
Ding!
A plump man trotted up to Tony, panting. "To be honest, I've been carrying this with me since 2008. You should give me a raise."
"I can sign you up for a fitness class. Dwayne Johnson will train you personally..." Stark took the red box from Happy's hand. It looked small in his palm.
"Oh my God..." Pepper covered her mouth to hide her laughter, unable to believe it. She could tell what was inside at a single glance.
Stark knelt down on one knee with a solemn expression, holding the red box in front of Pepper.
"Are you willing—"
Boom!
"Roar!"
Before Stark could finish his improvised vow, a fat green man fell from the sky. The force of the fall pierced through Avengers Tower and shattered the ceilings of more than a dozen floors.
"What was that just now?" Pepper exclaimed. Looking at the smashed floor, she could not help feeling a little frightened.
"Something green."
"Happy, watch Pepper!" Stark walked to the edge of the pit and looked down. His pupils widened instantly. "Dr. Banner?!"
Dr. Banner had returned to human form. He covered his lower back, groaning involuntarily, and several hairs on his frantic chest had been torn off. He pointed at the frightened staff nearby.
"Can someone get me some clothes? Thank you..."
...
"You mean you took a Quinjet, accidentally traveled through a wormhole to another planet, were then attracted by powerful people in the universe, finally met Renzo, and he sent you back?" Stark licked his nail and scratched his head. "That sounds like a novel. There are too many coincidences."
"It's hard for me to believe it too, but it's true." Banner put on a top that did not fit him properly. It was so large it could almost be worn as pants.
Happy spread his hands, indicating that he did not have any smaller clothes.
"Hulk dominated my mind for two years. I know nothing about those two years and only have a faint impression." Dr. Banner still wanted to find smaller clothes and pants...
"Where's Renzo? He should be back too."
"I don't know. I don't know..."
At that moment, Renzo fell from a high altitude with Carter on his back and landed in front of Stark and Dr. Banner. He shouted anxiously, "Save him! He's dying!" He used the Mind Stone to repair Carter's body, but after all, it was not a true healing Stone, and what it could do was very limited.
Although Stark did not know what the blue creature in Renzo's arms was, out of trust in his comrade, he immediately called Stark Industries' professional medical team upstairs. Seeing this, Pepper quickly took out gauze. In any case, they had to stop the bleeding first.
The boy's body temperature gradually dissipated, and his body grew colder. His lips turned pale, and he could not even do something as simple as open his eyes. He should have been dead already, but his life had been forcibly extended for several minutes.
"Is this death... I can't even feel the pain..." Carter's remaining consciousness was still thinking hard. After spending more than a month with the boss, this was the first time he had felt... so needed. He really did not want to die...
A crystal tear slipped from the boy's somewhat pale blue skin.
"I'm sorry. There's no hope..." The doctor shook his head helplessly. Carter had suffered massive bleeding from the carotid artery and burns across many parts of his body. Moreover, he clearly was not from Earth. They were doctors who treated Earthlings. People from space were beyond them.
Stark could only lower his head. He did not know what the relationship was between the child in front of him and Renzo, but Renzo clearly attached great importance to him.
"Let's escape from prison..."
"What do we do? We're surrounded by the Nova Corps!"
"You must not die. If you die, I'll have to go back to prison..."
"Boss, are you giving me this spear?"
"I'm a little spacesick..."
"Thank you..."
Holding Carter's body, Renzo rose into the sky and left the building at supersonic speed under everyone's gaze.
"Should we follow him?"
"Let him calm down..."
...
"If technology can't save a dead man's life, then magic can!"
Renzo did not know why he had such high expectations for a boy he had known for only a little over a month. He just wanted him to survive.
The first time he saw the Kree boy was in prison. His numb eyes were cowering in the corner with fear, like an easily frightened cat unwilling to accept anyone's kindness. In that place full of malice from all kinds of people, the Kree were the most despised race, like rich people who had left home. When they went to poor places, money would not win the respect and awe of those unruly people. It would only make them take advantage of you and treat you like fat meat waiting to be slaughtered.
He had seen this kind of news before, or in his previous life: robbing passing trucks, kidnapping and trafficking urban teachers, insulting kind people who funded schooling, burning down newly built houses belonging to neighbors... All kinds of signs, without doubt, displayed the purest evil in the world vividly before everyone's eyes.
There were always people who carried great malice for no reason. Just because they had some interaction with a place, they had to endure wanton insults that did not belong to them. Innocent rebuttals only attracted more violent abuse and discrimination, like a strange bird flying across the sky, bringing endless malice wherever it went.
Renzo flew, his supersonic speed making his cloak buzz. If he were an ordinary person, the hurricane would have torn his skin apart. He tightly protected Carter in his arms, even though Carter was already dead. His breathing and heartbeat had stopped, the blood on his neck had dried, and his blood was nearly drained.
Kamar-Taj.
Boom!
The teacup fell to the ground, and steaming tea spilled across the man's body. His scarred hands trembled slightly. He felt it. He felt the aura coming from far away, the same origin as the pendant on his chest... and there was more than one.
"What's wrong, Strange?"
Wong walked over slowly, his broad body stepping on the wooden floorboards that were almost rotting. No one wanted to repair the thousand-year-old temple.
"Someone is coming... It may be a guest, or it may not be." Strange stood up. His cloak automatically flew behind him and obediently draped itself over his body. "But this requires me to greet him at the door in person, whether he is enemy or friend."
Seeing Strange's solemn expression, Wong knew the person coming might not be good. He followed closely behind the Sorcerer Supreme and casually cast a small spell to notify all the mages of Kamar-Taj to stay alert.
The two stepped out of Kamar-Taj and immediately saw the man.
"An Avenger?" Wong was shocked. "What are the Avengers doing here? Learning spells? But this guy seems to be a robot..."
Strange's eyes grew even more solemn, because he felt the aura of three Infinity Stones from Renzo's body.
Three in total.
If the Time Stone around his neck was added, then four Infinity Stones were gathered on Earth. There had never been a planet where so many Infinity Stones appeared at the same time. Never. Even the high-ranking Celestials could only control the energy of one Stone.
"Be careful..." Strange sent a message to the mages while casting a spell on the Eye of Agamotto. It was a simple but indestructible protective spell. Only by destroying him could anyone obtain it.
"Strange?" The moment Renzo saw Strange, he knew that the Ancient One was dead. He hugged Carter's body and pleaded, "Please save him, Strange. You are the best surgeon in the world and the Sorcerer Supreme. You can save him..."
Strange refused immediately. He could tell at a glance that the boy was dead. His body was too cold. He could not be saved.
"Where's the Time Stone...?"
Strange's pupils shrank. This guy really knew the origin of the Eye of Agamotto. So this child was probably only a cover. His real goal was to seize the Time Stone?
The Sorcerer Supreme immediately entered combat mode. Once suspicion had been established, the crime was already pinned to Renzo's head.
"I just want you to save him, please..."
Strange hesitated slightly, but the reason in his heart and his naturally suspicious character kept squeezing out his sympathy. "I'm sorry. I already said that reversing life and death will alter the fixed rules of the universe, and it may cause the timeline to collapse. The universe itself could fall into crisis."
"This is my responsibility as the Sorcerer Supreme. I must not violate the rules of the universe. The dead cannot be resurrected. That is eternal."
Strange's expression was solemn. "So... please take him away. Kamar-Taj is closing."
Renzo did not speak. He only stared at Strange silently.
Silently...
He slowly picked up Carter's body and turned around.
Strange breathed a sigh of relief. This unlucky guy was finally leaving. He was truly afraid that he would not be able to protect the Time Stone, because the person in front of him not only possessed the power of three Infinity Stones, but was also entangled by an extremely evil force.
"You are the least qualified person to say that."
Strange narrowed his eyes. He took those words as a declaration of war. Two magic shields appeared instantly in his hands, and the other mages also raised magic shields, ready to fight.
"I'll say it again. Leave Kamar-Taj!" Strange shouted solemnly, his magical energy nearly reaching its peak.
Renzo looked at the group of mages and smiled. He nodded, pointed at Strange's nose, and said, "You will beg me to take the Time Stone. You definitely will."
Renzo opened a portal and left Kamar-Taj with Carter's body in his arms.
Strange finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"He has been here twice before. Master Ancient One personally invited him," Wong suddenly said.
"What? Why are you only saying that now..." The corners of Strange's mouth twitched. Anyone recognized by the Ancient One was definitely not someone harmful to Earth. He trusted that bald woman.
"You didn't ask..."
Renzo stepped out of the portal and placed Carter's body on the ground. Carter was completely cold, and all the organs in his body had entered a state of gradual failure. When all bodily functions failed, he would truly enter death.
Looking at Carter's withered body lying on the ground, Renzo slowly saw a double image before his eyes. An equally withered body gradually overlapped with Carter's...
"Carter... Carter..." Renzo's eyes widened for a moment. He finally remembered the boy's name and his origin.
"It's all up to you. Come on! Give me some strength!"
Renzo finally took out the Space Stone he had nearly forgotten for a long time. Black stains flickered faintly across it.
He released the imprisoned Venom, causing the black goo to crawl onto Carter's body.
It had been a long, long time. Venom had not felt a human body for almost two years. Even though this body was cold, Venom still felt excited and greedy.
Carter's body was covered as thickly as blood. It looked as if he were wearing a biodegradable leather jacket, tight against the man's body. His blue skin was completely replaced by black.
Renzo watched the scene nervously. He was not sure whether this method would work. Waiting... was the only thing he could do.
After a long time... or perhaps not long at all.
One minute.
Two minutes.
The pale eyes...
Opened.
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