The shadow left behind by Thanos still lingered in the hearts of everyone in the Main Universe.
That single name carried five full years of grief and loss.
If not for Iron Man's final sacrifice, they might have already become nothing more than history, buried alongside the universe itself.
Whether it was Wong, Doctor Strange, or Ant Man, all of them felt a deep, instinctive wariness whenever Thanos was mentioned.
Yet at this moment, hearing that Thanos was on the opposite Earth was, strangely enough, genuinely good news.
"I know it sounds wrong to say this," Doctor Strange said through the communication channel, "but the other side now holds the Infinity Stones. This is our chance."
"Everyone, listen carefully. The same person from different worlds can have completely different experiences and personalities."
Just like Tony Stark. Without his captivity in Afghanistan, he might have remained nothing more than a flamboyant playboy. In one alternate timeline, after being saved early, he even doubled down on his weapons business after returning to America.
But Strange was not finished.
"So we cannot assume the people on the opposite side are the same as the ones we know."
"We cannot judge their good or evil using our own memories."
"Therefore, I suggest we observe first. When the Iron Man on the other side snaps his fingers, we rush in and take the Infinity Stones."
"This will not change Thanos's fate over there, and it allows us to seize control."
"Most importantly, we must prevent anyone on that Earth from using the Stones in a way that causes irreversible damage to our universe."
Strange's caution came from experience.
He had seen too many versions of himself across the multiverse. Some were stubborn, some were completely self centered, and some had lost all conscience in pursuit of their goals.
Because of that, vigilance was not only reasonable, it was necessary.
In truth, Strange did not completely trust even the heroes from the S Universe. That was why he had stayed behind on Earth.
With the Avengers either dead or disbanded in his world, he was now Earth's final guardian. Caution was no longer optional.
The channel fell silent for several seconds.
"No. We cannot do that," Old Captain America finally spoke.
Seated inside the Quinjet, he stared at the distant Earth ahead, his gaze burning with conviction.
"I believe in Tony. I believe in Bucky. I believe in Banner."
"Even if this is another universe, even if their lives turned out differently, I believe they will still be the ones who stand with me, and stand in front of everyone."
"Since we are already here, then we should go help them."
"When we faced Thanos back then, we were isolated and helpless. Now they are too. But this time, they have reinforcements, and that is us."
"Everyone, we fight together, face this together, and we do not abandon anyone."
Old Captain America was speaking of the Avengers from his own universe.
Yet every hero from the Main Universe felt like those words were meant for them as well.
That was the power of Captain America. As long as he stood there, people believed. They followed.
Sam stared at the old man, unable to hide the bitterness in his smile.
"Steve… you really are something else."
Once again, Sam felt that he was still unworthy of the shield.
He straightened his back and spoke with quiet resolve. "Captain, give the order. We will follow you."
Old Captain America smiled at him, then shook his head. His wrinkled finger slowly pointed toward the young Captain America.
Young Steve was staring ahead at Tony and the others near the front of the Quinjet.
"I have never faced Thanos myself," he said honestly. "I do not know how terrifying he is. But I do know one thing. We follow Tony."
Young Captain America trusted Tony completely. After all, Tony was technically his direct superior now.
"Thank goodness," Tony's voice cut into the channel. "I thought you two were about to give back to back speeches. As expected, young people keep it simple."
"Listen up, Jarvis has already hacked into the network of the Earth ahead of us."
"Their history is nearly identical to the Main Universe, so we can trust most of what we see."
"But just in case, you all know how cautious I am. Me and that magician are especially careful."
"So the plan is simple. We enter the battlefield, take down Thanos, and seize the Infinity Gauntlet."
"Oh, and one more thing. Under no circumstances do we let that magician from Bleecker Street touch the Gauntlet."
Tony's distrust of Strange was as strong as ever.
"But how do we defeat Thanos?" Ms. Marvel asked nervously. "There were so many of you in the Endgame battle, and you still barely won."
"Excellent question. From this moment on, everything depends on Iron Man."
Tony suddenly surged forward, accelerating toward the Earth ahead.
Yet Diana and Kara were even faster.
Three streaks of light tore through the vacuum of space and slammed toward the planet in the blink of an eye.
Back on the Main Universe Earth, Doctor Strange let out a slow sigh.
It did not matter which universe Tony came from. That man was exhausting in every possible reality.
…
The Earth colliding with the Main Universe.
Designation 199999 b2.
Ten minutes earlier.
Inside the Avengers Facility in upstate New York.
The Avengers who had survived Thanos's snap were gathered together.
They had collected all six Infinity Stones.
They had forged a new Gauntlet to contain them.
And the final calibration had just been completed.
Now, only one question remained.
Who would snap their fingers and bring back half of all life?
What they did not know was that the blue skinned Nebula among them had already been replaced by a Nebula from another timeline, working under Thanos.
At that very moment, she was secretly opening the quantum channel to welcome him.
"I will snap my fingers. I will!" Thor declared suddenly.
The obese Thor twisted his thick waist as he staggered toward the Gauntlet.
"What?"
"Wait, wait!"
Everyone rushed forward at once to stop him.
"Thor, listen to me," this world's Captain America said urgently. "We still need to carefully decide who performs the snap."
Thor tilted his head, scratching at his messy, unwashed hair.
"So let me get this straight," he said. "We have another Earth hanging over our heads, enemies who could arrive at any time, and you want to sit around and talk instead of saving half the universe?"
Ant Man tried to calm him down. "No, no. We just need to discuss it properly."
"Discuss what?" Thor snapped. "Standing here talking will not save anyone."
He forced his eyes open wider. "I am the strongest Avenger, am I not?"
"Let me do it. This belongs to the strongest."
"That is not the point," Tony said calmly as he placed a hand on Thor's chest to stop him. "The energy released by the snap is enough to light up an entire continent."
"It is fine, Tony," Thor said hoarsely. "Let me do it. I can handle it. Let me."
Wearing a worn glove, Thor tightly grabbed Tony's hand. His voice trembled with desperation and guilt.
"Let me do one good thing. This is my last chance. Please."
Tony's voice softened, gentle like he was comforting a child.
"Thor, listen to me. That amount of energy is not something you can withstand right now."
"Not withstand it? That is a joke," Thor scoffed, puffing out his large belly. "What do you think runs through my veins?"
From the side, Rhodes shrugged. "Cheese?"
"Hey!" Thor pointed at him in protest. "Watch it."
Then he turned back to Tony, still gripping his hand tightly, clearly unwilling to give up.
_____
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