Tony Stark originally planned to grab the Tesseract before the world even realized what happened, and then make a clean getaway.
But things didn't go as planned. Pietro and Dr. Banner ran into trouble first, and then Tony himself got caught off guard by Captain Carter.
"It's all their fault. Especially Pietro. You're supposed to be the fastest guy around, and you still messed up stealing something? The X-Men version literally steal people without breaking a sweat!"
Tony cursed inwardly but kept rambling nonsense aloud, trying to buy time for the others. Not that he was eager to fight the sharp and imposing Captain Carter in the first place.
"Who are you people? What's your objective?" Captain Carter wasn't fooled by Tony's chatter. If anything, she saw an opportunity to extract more information.
Even with just a brief encounter, she could tell these two mysterious figures weren't ordinary. If they weren't some secret Hydra weapons, then there was clearly another power at play—one that the Allied Forces knew absolutely nothing about.
Just then, Tony shot a glance at Spider-Man and suddenly took off, boosters flaring beneath his feet. "Hah! If we meet again, I'll tell you everything you want to know!"
Banner had just announced over the comms that they'd secured the Tesseract and instructed everyone to regroup at the safehouse for extraction.
Tony's retreat was quick and slick, disappearing into the shadows in the blink of an eye.
Spider-Man No. 3 caught on instantly. Reading Tony's look, he took off in another direction, swinging between buildings with practiced ease.
Captain Carter hesitated but decided to go after Iron Man. He seemed like the bigger threat—and besides, he was heading toward the area lit up by explosions, which was worth checking out.
"Hah! Steve would lose his mind if he knew what I just pulled on his dream girl!"
Spider-Man swung agilely between the densely packed buildings, easily leaving Carter in the dust.
On his shoulder sat someone the size of an ant—none other than Tony Stark.
Tony had only pretended to flee. Mid-flight, he shrank down to Ant-Man size and hitched a ride on Spider-Man, successfully luring Carter away. Now, he was grinning like a kid who'd just pulled off the perfect prank.
When they reached a secluded alley, Spider-Man curiously looked at the miniaturized Tony and marveled, "That's insane! If I wore your suit, could I shrink like that too?"
"Uh… not yet."
Tony leapt off his shoulder, returning to normal size mid-air. "This suit's still in the experimental phase. Functions are incomplete, but we're getting there!"
This new armor of his could shrink like Ant-Man without using Pym Particles, meaning it was fundamentally different from the original Ant-Man tech. It ran on what Tony jokingly called 'I-think-it'll-work' energy, and so far, it only worked on him—no one else could use it to shrink.
The two of them chatted casually as they took a longer, more discreet route, eventually reaching the safehouse. Bruce Banner and Pietro had only just arrived as well.
The moment Tony saw them, he started complaining. "Seriously? That's how you steal something? You made enough noise to wake the dead."
"That wasn't just any object—that was the freakin' Tesseract!" Bruce retorted. "Hydra had it guarded tighter than Fort Knox!"
Tony wasn't having it. "Come on, it's just a Tesseract. I've stolen one before—from the Allied HQ, no less—and it was even more heavily guarded! I still pulled it off."
Pietro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure… that was future you, not you you."
Honestly, they just had bad luck.
The Tesseract was being personally guarded by Dr. Zola. When Bruce and Pietro made their move, Zola had stepped away for a bathroom break.
Pietro quickly snuck into the car and grabbed the case.
Mission accomplished—or so they thought.
Turns out, the case was empty.
Dr. Zola, ever the paranoid schemer, had taken the Tesseract with him to the bathroom and left an empty case behind.
So Pietro's stealth run was pointless. When Zola returned and noticed the missing case, he immediately raised the alarm, locking down the area and launching a search—one that quickly flushed out Bruce.
With no other options, the two had to fight their way out and barely managed to secure the Tesseract.
Tony scoffed at their excuse but let it slide. They had botched things too.
He turned to Banner. "Alright, open it up. Bruce got his part done too. Time to head home."
Bruce nodded and activated the portal inside the safehouse. He, Pietro, and Spider-Man No. 3 went through first, with Tony bringing up the rear.
Just as Tony stepped through, a familiar shield whistled through the air and smashed into his back with a loud thud, launching him several meters and slamming him into a wall.
"Shit! She actually landed that sneak attack!"
Tony yelled out in pain, clutching his lower back. He was already back in the Multiverse Defenders's meeting room. Behind him, the portal was shrinking shut.
Right before it disappeared, he caught a glimpse of Captain Carter's utterly stunned face on the other side.
Bruce helped him up and casually pulled the shield out of the wall. "So… does this count as overachieving the mission?"
No kidding. Not only did they bring back a Tesseract from the animated universe, they also scored a vibranium shield as a bonus.
Pietro chuckled, "Yeah, except I didn't get any extra rewards."
Tony rubbed his aching back and sat down with a wince, eyeing the vibranium shield with a pained look. "Whatever. Next time, let Steve return it. He'd love that kind of errand."
As they chatted, another portal opened—Bruce Wayne's team had returned safely as well.
They didn't have any bonus loot, but they did bring back Young Peter and the mother-son duo of Ryan and his mom.
The moment they came through, the young Peter ran straight into May's arms. Becca and her son hugged each other tightly too, overwhelmed by the dreamlike experience of crossing into another universe.
"Oh my god… we really made it to another world?"
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Translator's Note:
Hey everyone! I've just wrapped up translating my latest fanfic, and now I'm on the hunt for a new one to bring to you all. I'd love to hear your suggestions — maybe there's a great story out there that hasn't been translated yet and deserves some attention!
Before you recommend anything, though, here are a few conditions I'd like to set:
The main character shouldn't be an idiot — smart, decisive protagonists only!
No unnecessary power hiding. If the MC can solve a problem easily, they should do it.
Absolutely no "good boy" or pushover types.
The MC must be strong, confident, and respected — someone who stands tall in every scene.
Basically, I'm looking for stories where the main character owns their strength and doesn't waste time pretending otherwise.
So, if you know any hidden gems that fit this style, drop your suggestions below! I'll check them out and maybe one of them will become my next translation project.