On the streets of New York, a few people suddenly appeared, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
The sudden appearance of these strangers startled the pedestrians, who quickly gathered around.
"That's the superhero who saved Earth last time!"
"That's the Hulk! He's huge!"
"Is he really green all over?"
"That's Captain America! I'm gonna faint!"
"Tony Stark!!"
Everyone pulled out their phones and started recording.
The superheroes were caught off guard. During the battle of New York, the city had been completely empty. But now, seeing the excited crowd around them…
Tony couldn't help but say, "Oh! Guys! Did we mess up? Did we get the timing wrong?"
Ant-Man said, "The setting is correct."
He pointed to the time displayed on the screen of the building across from them.
Bruce Banner added, "Then what's going on here?" He gestured toward the crowd around them, causing a stir.
Captain America looked at the situation and said, "No matter what, we need to get out of here first."
Just as he finished speaking, a Quinjet slowly descended. The surrounding crowd immediately moved aside upon seeing it. Then, Jarvis's voice came from the aircraft.
"Mr. Stark, please board the plane!"
Tony was briefly stunned but quickly shrugged it off and led the others onto the aircraft. If the Battle of New York didn't happen, then something was definitely wrong.
Since they were already being watched, there was no way to escape surveillance unless they went straight back.
Once inside the plane, they found it completely empty. Everyone took their seats.
Tony asked, "Jarvis, who told you to pick us up?"
Jarvis's electronic voice echoed through the cabin: "It was Mr. Tony Stark's order."
Hearing this, the Tony from the future immediately understood—his past self in this timeline had already discovered them.
But what really caught his attention was why the Battle of New York never happened.
Soon, the aircraft landed on top of a building—it was the future Avengers Tower.
"This building shouldn't even be in use yet, right?" Captain America asked.
Banner added, "At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't disbanded yet, and Hydra is still hiding within it."
If Yang Tao were here, he would definitely complain, "Hydra is hiding? Are you sure it's not S.H.I.E.L.D. hiding inside Hydra?"
The plane landed smoothly on the platform, and as they stepped off, they immediately saw someone waiting for them.
It was this world's Tony Stark.
Tony smirked, "Welcome, everyone! And of course, welcome to the smartest Tony Stark!"
The Tony from Endgame thought, *If you're gonna put it that way, I won't argue.*
Tony continued, "Didn't expect me to still be this handsome in the future. You can call me Tony, and I'll call you Stark! Come on in, I know you guys must have a lot of questions!"
Leading them inside the building, Tony said, "Alright, what do you guys want to drink? And feel free to ask anything!"
Stark looked at his past self—his once confident, handsome face now seemed unfamiliar. He had lost that self-assurance after failing once.
"Tony, you knew we were coming? How?"
Tony, who was pouring drinks at the bar, chuckled when he heard the question. "Not only did I know you were coming, but I also know why you're here!"
At that moment, Banner suddenly spoke up, "Tony, can you get me a bigger glass? Thanks!"
Everyone turned to look at Banner. Feeling awkward, he shrank back a little and muttered, "The glass is too small. It's hard to hold."
Tony didn't mind at all. "No problem, Dr. Banner!" He then pulled out the largest glass available.
Captain America asked, "Tony, why didn't the Chitauri invade this world?"
"That's a good question. It's not that they didn't invade—the battle ended a week ago."
WTF? A confused expression spread among the group. There were no signs of battle outside, no damage to any buildings, and now Tony was telling them the war was already over?
Seeing their reactions, Tony explained, "Of course, the battle didn't happen here. It was fought in an uninhabited area."
Finally, Stark got to the main point, "So, has the Tesseract already been taken by Thor?"
Everyone anxiously waited for Tony's answer.
Without hesitation, Tony walked over to a safe, opened it, and took out both the Tesseract and the Time Stone.
Since the Sorcerer Supreme needed to monitor otherworldly threats, guard the sanctum, and focus on a lot of study, Tony had refused the Ancient One's offer and chose to pursue mechanical ascension instead.
However, borrowing the Time Stone? The Ancient One had agreed to that.
"How do you have the Time Stone?!" Stark exclaimed in shock. He couldn't believe this was his past self. He had been skilled before, but not *this* skilled.
Tony handed over the Tesseract and the Time Stone. "Alright! Hurry back! And don't forget to return them!"
With their mission complete, the group prepared to return to their world.
Tony suddenly stopped Stark. "Wait! Take this! Keep it on you at all times! This is the most important thing your past self left for you!"
Stark took it and tucked it into his clothes. "Even though you *are* me, I still have to say—you've got great taste! This outfit is awesome!"
In an instant, the group disappeared.
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