Chapter 190 — Gathering of Worlds
Not long after the mission panel appeared, the Multiversal Chat suddenly became active.
Most of the time, the chat had been quiet. Everyone lived their own lives in their respective worlds. Occasionally, there would be small conversations, jokes, or questions about each other's worlds.
But now it was different.
One by one, members began to come online.
Small notification sounds appeared in the interface as more users connected.
The reason was simple.
A new mission had appeared.
Everyone knew that missions were not ordinary events. Whenever the system created one, it meant something significant was happening somewhere, or at least something had happened to one of the members.
The chat window quickly filled with activity.
The first one to speak was Naruto.
Naruto:
"A new mission!"
His message appeared with the same excitement he always showed. Naruto enjoyed missions. For him, missions were chances to help people and see new places. Traveling to another world was something he found exciting rather than worrying.
A moment later, another message appeared.
Mindy:
"And it's in our world."
Mindy had already checked the mission information. It mentioned Tony's title, Iron Man, and the location, New York. The place was immediately clear to her.
This mission was taking place, their world.
Another message appeared soon after.
Saeko:
"Chitauri? Is it aliens?"
Saeko had carefully read the objective listed in the mission panel.
The word "Chitauri" was unfamiliar to her. It sounded like something not human. But instead of jumping to conclusions, she simply asked for clarification.
While the others were talking, someone else noticed something important.
Diana.
Diana realized that one member of the chat had not spoken yet.
Tanya.
Tanya was the newest member of the Multiversal Chat. Unlike the others, she had never participated in a cross-world mission before.
Diana decided to address her directly.
Diana:
"Tanya, do you want to join the mission? After all, you're a new member. You haven't gone to another world yet."
Her tone was calm and friendly.
Diana was not forcing Tanya to join. She was simply giving her the opportunity.
Experiencing other worlds was something that helped members understand the chat better.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark had also read Saeko's earlier question.
He decided to explain the situation clearly.
Tony:
"It's likely an alien. Someone claiming to be Loki appeared here."
A moment passed before he continued chatting.
Tony:
"He arrived through a portal using the Tesseract. He might use it to open a massive wormhole to invade Earth."
Tony kept his explanation simple.
Saeko read his explanation and responded shortly.
Saeko:
"I see…"
Her response was short, but it showed she understood the situation now.
If Tony was correct, this mission would involve fighting alien forces.
Meanwhile, Tanya finally spoke.
Tanya:
"Will there be any danger?"
Her message was not emotional.
It was simply practical.
Tanya always evaluated situations logically. Before making a decision, she wanted to understand the risks involved.
Diana answered honestly.
Diana:
"Of course there is."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
Diana:
"But every mission also has rewards for the participants."
She did not hide the truth.
There would definitely be danger.
But missions also gave rewards. For many members of the chat, those rewards could be very valuable.
After Diana's message appeared.
Tanya did not reply immediately.
She was clearly thinking.
Naruto spoke again.
Naruto:
"Tanya, you should accept the mission. You're the only one who hasn't gone to another world."
Naruto's reasoning was simple.
Everyone else had already experienced traveling between worlds.
Only Tanya had not.
Saeko supported the idea.
Saeko:
"Indeed."
She agreed calmly.
The group was not forcing Tanya.
They were simply encouraging her.
A little while later, Tanya finally sent another message.
Tanya:
"Then I will join. Who will be the other one then?"
Her decision was logical.
If missions had rewards, then participating could be beneficial.
But she also understood that she would not be the only participant.
The mission allowed two people.
Naruto answered immediately.
Naruto:
"Of course it would be Gaius."
No one argued with that answer.
In the Multiversal Chat, Gaius was known for his strength and reliability.
If a mission involved danger, Gaius was often the first person people thought of.
At that moment, the mission panel suddenly changed.
A new line appeared.
Mission Available
Mission: Help Iron Man
Objective 1: Protect New York
Objective 2: Kill Chitauri /?
Participants: 1 / 2 Accepted
One of the slots had been filled.
Then a new message appeared in the chat.
Gaius:
"I will accept the mission."
The message was simple.
Direct.
No one objected.
For the members of the chat, Gaius joining the mission was almost expected.
After seeing Gaius accept the mission, Tanya did not hesitate anymore.
She accepted as well.
The system updated immediately.
Participants: 2 / 2 Accepted
The mission was now full.
Far away in another universe, aboard the strike cruiser The Oath of Rectitude, the massive ship continued drifting through the Warp.
Outside the ship, the Warp looked like a violent ocean of strange light and shadows.
Inside the vessel, everything remained stable.
The engines continued running.
The Gellar field remained strong.
Thousands of crew members continued their duties as usual.
Inside his chamber, Gaius looked at the mission panel one more time.
Participants: 2 / 2 Accepted
The mission had been confirmed.
He closed the panel calmly.
Then another interface appeared before him.
It was one of the abilities he had obtained earlier.
Shared Gate
The display showed the current connection count.
6 / 10 Connections
Six of the ten available connections were already filled.
The connected individuals were clearly listed.
Titus.
Metaurus.
Two Bladeguard Veterans.
One Dreadnought.
One Sister of Silence.
Gaius looked at the list quietly.
Four spaces remained.
He briefly considered whether he should connect someone else before leaving.
His mind carefully reviewed the people under his command.
Many Ultramarines were loyal.
Many were skilled.
But the Shared Gate ability was not something he wanted to use casually.
It required trust and worthiness.
After thinking about it for a moment, Gaius slowly shook his head.
There was no one else he wished to add right now.
Six connections were enough.
Without further hesitation, he confirmed the mission deployment.
The moment he did, a soft light began to appear around his body.
Small particles of light slowly formed across his armor.
Then his form began to dissolve.
The particles drifted into the air quietly.
Within seconds, Gaius disappeared from the chamber completely.
The grim darkness of his universe faded away.
In another universe, inside Stark Manor, Tony Stark was already preparing for what might come next.
He stood in the living room while Agent Coulson watched him carefully.
Tony spoke calmly.
"JARVIS."
The AI responded immediately.
"Yes, sir."
Tony continued.
"Notify all Stark employees they are on holiday. Forcefully remove everyone from Stark Tower."
Coulson blinked in surprise.
"That's… a strong order," he said.
Tony crossed his arms.
"Stark Tower is in the center of New York," he said calmly.
Coulson understood what Tony meant.
If an alien invasion happened in the city, the tower could easily become the center of the battle.
Tony thinking to himself.
The mission panel appeared. That means something big is coming. Either the invasion can't be stopped… or we're already too late to prevent it.
His expression remained calm.
So the best thing I can do right now is reduce casualties.
JARVIS answered immediately.
"Understood, sir."
Across the Stark network, messages were sent out instantly.
Employees received notifications.
Emergency leave had been issued.
Everyone was instructed to leave Stark Tower immediately.
Transportation and compensation were already arranged.
The evacuation process began right away.
Inside an office in Stark Tower, Pepper Potts received the message from JARVIS.
She frowned slightly as she read it.
"What does Tony mean?" she said aloud.
She looked at the message again.
"Forcefully making all employees go home with paid days off?"
Across the desk from her sat Mindy.
Mindy had already seen the mission panel in the Multiversal Chat.
She knew exactly what was happening.
"It's because there will be danger in New York," Mindy said calmly.
Pepper looked at her.
Mindy continued.
"Tony probably wants to get the employees out of danger."
Pepper remained quiet for a moment.
She already knew about the Multiversal Chat.
Tony and Mindy had explained it to her before.
At first, she had found it hard to believe.
But after seeing enough evidence, she had accepted that it was real.
Now she understood why Tony was acting this way.
Pepper nodded slowly.
"That sounds like something he would do."
Then she stood up.
She looked at Mindy.
"Then we should go prepare as well."
Mindy nodded.
The two of them left the office together.
They headed toward a private elevator that led downward.
Deep beneath Stark Tower.
A hidden basement.
Meanwhile, Tony had already finished giving his orders.
The armor began assembling around his body.
But the suit he was wearing now looked different from the one he had used before.
This armor was larger.
More solid.
More heavily built.
It was the Mark 10.
Unlike his earlier suits, this armor had been designed with much heavier combat in mind.
The material used for its construction was extremely rare.
Adamantium.
It was one of the metals he had received from Gaius's universe.
After studying it carefully, he had learned how to integrate it into his armor design.
Adamantium was incredibly strong.
Once properly reinforced and shaped, it created armor far more durable than anything Tony had built before.
The Mark 10 suit reflected that improvement.
The armor plating was thicker.
The internal systems were stronger.
But the most noticeable difference was the weapon systems.
Mounted at Tony's side waist was something unusual.
It looked like a gun.
But it was far larger and heavier than any normal firearm.
It was a Heavy Bolter.
Gaius had given it to Tony after Tony once asked if he could study one.
Instead of simply studying it, Tony had modified it and integrated it directly into the armor.
The heavy bolter fired powerful explosive rounds designed for extreme combat.
And that was only one of the weapons.
The Mark 10 armor contained multiple weapon systems built directly into its structure.
Shoulder cannons.
Missile launchers.
Heavy energy weapons.
Tony had turned the suit into something far more than simple armor.
It was now a walking arsenal.
But there was another improvement that made the system even more effective.
Tony had redesigned the reloading system.
The armor's reloading system could easily open along its side. Tony only needed to open his parcel system and pour the ammunition into the exposed port, allowing the suit to reload automatically. With his ability to produce supplies, he carried a large stock of materials inside his parcel system.
Reloading happened quickly and smoothly.
This meant Tony could continue firing without worrying about running out of ammunition.
The final result was simple.
Tony Stark had effectively turned himself into a walking army.
Inside the helmet, the display systems activated.
JARVIS spoke calmly.
"All evacuation orders are being processed, sir."
Tony nodded slightly.
"Good."
~~~
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