In this world, there were not many people who could peer into the timeline. After all, this was not the comic book universe, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The most famous among them were the two successive Sorcerer Supremes, the Ancient One and Stephen Strange. Ethan immediately sensed that the person peering into the timeline was Stephen Strange, but it was not the Doctor Strange from the timeline he was currently in.
"Hmm? Could it be..."
With a guess in mind, Ethan followed that feeling back and indeed saw Doctor Strange on Titan, using the Time Stone to peer into the future. He was diligently searching for a possibility to defeat Thanos and save the world.
Ethan's memory was very strong now. As long as he tried to recall something, he could remember all kinds of details.
He knew that Doctor Strange had looked through a total of fourteen million, six hundred and five possibilities, and only one of them could defeat Thanos. Although many people later complained that most of those fourteen million failures were because the rat had been useless...
However, that had nothing to do with Doctor Strange peering into the timeline Ethan was currently in. Ethan could actually shield himself, preventing his existence from affecting Doctor Strange's observations, and the number would still remain fourteen million, six hundred and five possibilities.
But if he released a small piece of information and let Doctor Strange know of the existence of this special timeline, then there would be fourteen million, six hundred and six possibilities.
Should he agree?
In that instant, Ethan also understood something else. He now knew why he had not sensed such things before. It was because his strength had not been enough back then. This time, after returning from the Main God Universe, Ethan had stepped into a higher realm and had become a greater variable. Even a single thought from him could potentially affect the development of parallel worlds, which was why he had entered the line of sight of Doctor Strange in another universe.
Aside from that, the more important reason was that back then, Ethan had the strength to change the outcome of that world, but they also could not easily contact him.
After Doctor Strange's death, they could only rely on Tony Stark to perfect Ant-Man's theory, then use temporal displacement to travel to specific points in parallel worlds and collect the Infinity Stones.
The people in those parallel universes did not know Ethan. They would not specifically look for him, and even if they wanted to, they would not know how.
But the current Ethan possessed power beyond human imagination. He could displace those people over, establishing a basis for contact between the two sides.
Only at this point did he become that extra possibility.
Thinking of this, Ethan suddenly smiled and said to the confused Tony beside him, "I'll show you a magic trick."
"What?"
Ethan lightly tapped the air, then opened his right hand as if grasping something and gently twisted. A figure suddenly appeared before everyone.
This person was wearing a special white suit. Just as Tony was wondering who Ethan had pulled over, the person had already removed his helmet. The suit used special technology, allowing the helmet to fold away directly and cover the entire head when needed.
So the person who suddenly appeared did not need to physically remove the helmet. After the helmet retracted, Tony immediately recognized him.
"Clint?"
"Tony?" Clint Barton looked at the much younger Tony Stark in front of him, not knowing what was going on. "This isn't right. I shouldn't be here."
He thought there was a problem with the targeting and that he had arrived at Tony's house at an earlier point in time. His original destination should have been his own home.
"No need to be confused. It's not your device that malfunctioned. I displaced you here."
"What?"
Clint, or Hawkeye, turned his head to look at Ethan, this stranger. He did not understand who this person was or why he said that. Did he know what he was doing?
"Who are you?"
Tony glanced at Clint, then at Ethan. He had already figured out what was going on. This Hawkeye was not the one he knew. Ethan had displaced him from another timeline, a parallel universe. He was just wondering why Ethan had done it.
"You should know this is a parallel world, right?"
Hawkeye nodded. Through Banner and Tony's explanation, he had already understood the situation. He had not gone back in time, but had traveled to a parallel universe.
"My name is Ethan, and I'm an Avenger in this world."
Of course, Hawkeye would not believe everything the other person said, but he was willing to trust Tony. Even in a parallel universe, that should not change.
"Although I have many questions I'd like to ask you, I'm afraid I can't tell you too much in detail. I'll be sent back soon."
"Don't worry about that."
Ethan gestured toward an empty chair.
"It doesn't matter how long you stay here, because your companions currently have no way to summon you back."
Hearing this, Hawkeye immediately grew anxious, but fortunately, Ethan spoke again the next moment.
"I'll send you back after we're done talking."
Glancing at Tony again, Clint realized he had no other choice, so he sat down without hesitation.
"I'd really like to know why you displaced me here."
"I sensed Stephen Strange using the power of the Time Stone to peer into the future, trying to find a possibility to defeat Thanos."
Clint had only heard a rough outline of this matter and had not paid much attention to it, so he quietly waited for the rest.
"I know you've run into some trouble, and I decided to help you a little. That's why I displaced you here."
"You can help us? You know our situation?"
Hawkeye's first reaction was, Are you kidding me? But he immediately realized that this young man could displace him here, so he must possess some kind of special ability. The other person had also said that he could sense Doctor Strange peering into the future, which was not something an ordinary person could do.
"I have a rough idea. Thanos succeeded, didn't he?"
At those words, Clint's mood immediately became very heavy. Since he could not go back anyway, he simply recounted the situation there to Ethan.
If it had only been Ethan, Hawkeye would not have been so straightforward, but with Tony sitting there, it was different. This was also why he was willing to speak.
As Clint narrated, Tony and Pepper also learned how terrible things had become in that universe. Thanos had successfully gathered all six Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers.
With that snap, half of all life in the universe turned to dust, including many familiar comrades. Only a few members of the Avengers remained.
Although they had not given up hope, Ant-Man's return and Tony's quiet success in researching new technology had brought them new hope. However, they still had a lot of work to do, all for the sake of restoring that world to normal.
When Tony heard that his other self on Titan had been overwhelmed and beaten by Thanos, severely injured, and nearly died in space, his face filled with displeasure.
"My self in that world was too useless!"
"No, Tony. Thanos was too terrifying. Although I never had the chance to face that guy myself, I could tell how strong he was just from the information my companions revealed!"
Thanos had never been ruthless during the process of collecting the Infinity Stones. His goal had always been to obtain the stones. Even while holding back, no one was a match for him. Only Thor, who had obtained Stormbreaker, could barely fight Thanos.
"Hmph. I'd really like to see how strong this guy is!"
Hawkeye did not respond. He had actually been silently calculating the time. So much time had passed, yet he still had not been sent back, so he could be certain that the person opposite him had not lied.
"You'll have a chance."
Ethan's words made Tony's thoughts wander, because he suddenly remembered that Thanos's army was currently confronting the Asgardian army. He could go find trouble with that guy right now.
"Should we go to Asgard now? I'd like to see how powerful that Thanos is."
"Wait, Asgard? Thanos?"
Clint suddenly had a question. What point in time was this world currently at? Asgard confronting Thanos's forces? He had never heard of such a thing. According to what he knew, after Asgard was destroyed, the Asgardians preparing to flee to Earth encountered Thanos halfway, and half of them were killed by him, including Loki and Heimdall.
He suddenly realized something. This world was very different from the world he was familiar with.
"Could you tell me about..."
Just as he was about to ask about the situation in this world, a golden circle of light suddenly appeared in the empty space nearby. Then, a man wearing a red cape walked out. Clint had never met him in person, but he had seen his file. This was Stephen Strange, known as Doctor Strange, a sorcerer from Kamar-Taj.
"Sorry to bother you, Master Ethan. I sensed an abnormal space-time fluctuation."
"It's nothing. I'm just hosting a friend from a parallel universe. Would you like to sit for a while?"
Ethan spread his hands, and only then did Hawkeye notice that a chair had appeared out of thin air where there had not been one before. Even more astonishing was that everyone was sitting around a round table with no obvious empty space, yet without him noticing, a spot for one person had already been cleared beside him.
Clint realized that Ethan was a sorcerer who possessed mystical powers, and judging from Doctor Strange's address, this person was probably not as young as he appeared on the surface.
"Isn't this kind of action inappropriate?"
As the guardian of Earth, Doctor Strange took temporal and spatial intrusions very seriously. Ethan's actions were something explicitly forbidden by Kamar-Taj. If not for the other person's identity, he would have already taken action.
"It's fine. It won't affect the normal operation of this universe, and it might even save another universe along the way."
(To be continued.)