Across the ruins of Prague, survivors emerged from shelters.
They'd watched the broadcasts. Seen their city's destruction. And now they spoke in hushed voices.
"The armored man saved us from the metal monster," an old woman said.
"But can he save himself?" her grandson asked.
No one had an answer.
In other parts of the world, reactions varied wildly.
In the resistance bases scattered across Europe, soldiers debated frantically. "Stark's suicide mission might give us an opening," a commander argued.
"If Apocalypse is distracted with him, we can hit secondary targets.
"Or it might end with our only real heavy-hitter dead and us completely exposed," his second-in-command countered.
In the mutant communities that had escaped Apocalypse's control, conversations turned dark. "He's not one of us," a young mutant said. "Why should we care if he dies fighting our fight?"
"Because he freed Storm and Magneto," an older mutant replied sharply. "He could have left them corrupted. Used them as weapons. Instead he risked everything to save them. That deserves respect."
In academic circles that still existed underground, scientists discussed the implications. "A seemingly evolved Tony Stark versus Celestial-enhanced mutant," a biologist mused. "From a purely evolutionary standpoint, this is fascinating."
"From a survival standpoint, we're watching maybe our best hope walk into a death trap," his colleague replied bitterly.
Everyone had opinions. But everyone would be watching tomorrow.
---
Tony materialized in the Avengers bunker. The portal closed behind him with a soft sound.
Every hero present turned to face him. The room fell silent.
Tony could see it in their expressions. Fear. Concern. Doubt. They thought he was insane. They thought he was going to die.
'Good. Let them think that. Better they don't know the full plan. Apocalypse might read it from someone's mind if they know too much.'
Captain America stepped forward first. His voice was steady but Tony could hear the worry underneath.
"Tony, what are you thinking? You can't fight Apocalypse alone."
Tony walked to the tactical table and activated holographic displays. His voice was calm. Professional.
"I won't be alone. I need everyone for specific missions. Listen carefully."
He began laying out assignments. Each one seemed straightforward. Logical. But none of them seemed like they would actually help him fight Apocalypse directly.
'That's the point. They need to think their missions are separate from the main battle. They can't know how everything connects until it's too late for Apocalypse to counter.'
Tony's internal monologue continued as he gave orders.
'Strange and Jean on the Ascension Device. They'll think they're just containing it. Really they'll be mapping its dimensional anchors. Every single connection point it has to other realities.'
"Doctor Strange, Jean Grey. You'll handle the Ascension Device. I need you to contain its dimensional energy. Don't try to destroy it. Just contain."
Strange frowned. "That device is Celestial technology. Containing it will take everything we have."
"I know. I trust you can handle."
'Steve and Peggy evacuating civilians. They'll think it's purely humanitarian. They won't realize they're actually placing quantum resonators disguised as medical equipment throughout Cairo. Devices calibrated to the exact frequency I detected from the Ascension Device during the Horsemen battles.'
Tony turned to Captain America and Captain Carter. "Steve, Peggy, Shang-Chi. You evacuate Cairo. Every civilian you can find. Get them out before dawn."
"That's just humanitarian work," Peggy said skeptically. "It doesn't help you fight Apocalypse."
"It helps," Tony said without elaborating. He couldn't. Not yet.
'The Young Avengers sabotaging power conduits. They'll think they're making noise and causing distractions. They won't know they're actually rewiring those conduits into a massive energy collection array. All of it pointing back toward the Ascension Device's core systems.'
He looked at the Young Avengers gathered at the side. Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Anna with her Superman-like powers, David the prodigy, X-23, Riri Williams, Jennifer, Cecilia, Hazmat. All of them young. Eager. Ready to help however they could.
"You sabotage power conduits around the citadel. Make noise. Be visible. Blow things up if you have to."
"That sounds like a distraction," Spider-Man said.
"It is," Tony confirmed. "Do it anyway."
'And the telepathic network. They'll think it's just basic communication backup. They won't realize it's a distributed processing system. Every hero's brain connected to M.A.R.V.E.L.'s quantum computers. Creating a predictive AI that can calculate Apocalypse's moves in real-time.'
He addressed the X-Men. "Cyclops, you establish a telepathic network. Link every hero here for communication backup."
"Basic tactical support," Cyclops noted.
"Nothing special."
"Exactly."
Black Widow stepped forward. Her eyes studied Tony's face carefully. She was trained to read people. To detect lies and hidden motives.
"You're not telling us the real plan," she said flatly.
Tony met her gaze steadily. "No. I'm not."
Read more chapters, 40+ days ahead of Webnovel Updates on Patreon marvelstark