NOVEL WEB Chapter 84: Chapter 84
Controlled by Kurohane's Telepathy, Nebula from 2014 leaked Thanos's 2014 plan. He intended to travel from 2014 to the present and reassemble the six Infinity Stones. This time, however, his snap would not erase half of life in the Universe. Instead, his goal was to erase the entire Universe, resetting it from scratch, so that people like the Avengers would not stand in his way.
"Tony, Captain, do you understand what I meant earlier?" Kurohane asked, his eyes sweeping over the tired faces before him. His tone held a mix of sympathy and firmness.
Those who play with time will ultimately be played by time. Your plan seems perfect, but it's full of loopholes. If I had been careless and given you the Infinity Stones then, your situation now would be that you've used all the Pym Particles, and you still can't break that snap. How would you return the three Infinity Stones from my timeline?
Kurohane's dark eyes were like two black holes. The four individuals who had been in New York at that time couldn't meet his gaze, because Kurohane was right. If Kurohane hadn't come to the future timeline with them, they truly would have no options now. The Infinity Stones could never be fully assembled!
"No, we still have a chance," Tony retorted, his brain rapidly spinning, searching for an opening. "That is to bring in Thanos 2014!"
"Since he wants to collect all the Infinity Stones, he must have the other two Infinity Stones in his hands. As long as we can defeat him, we can do that..."
Tony's mind worked quickly, but the more he spoke, the less confident he became. Back then, a group of them had surrounded Thanos on Titan, and after fighting for a long time, only he had managed to break through Thanos's defenses, drawing blood. Although they ultimately failed, partly due to Star-Lord, Thanos's combat power was indeed terrifying, capable of making the Hulk isolate himself. Moreover, with the Black Order's complete forces, they truly wouldn't stand a chance if they only faced a small number of troops!
"So, this world needs more heroes!" Kurohane patted Tony's shoulder like an elder, saying earnestly, "Tony, I remember you even won the Nobel Peace Prize back then for selling a large number of weapons? If possible, I'd like to order 50 Jericho missiles for Thanos and his subordinates. You know, the stuff you sold in the Middle East before you became Iron Man. Can you do it?"
Tony's eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled a holographic projection screen from his arm, resolutely began ordering from his factory, and looked at the other Avengers.
"Folks, anyone want to order a gift for Thanos?" Tony grinned, his old spirit returning. "Although Stark Industries no longer sells weapons to the outside world, the production lines are still there. As long as you can think of it, there's nothing our Stark Group can't produce!"
Everyone: (eyes shining, spirits burning). Good stuff!
Then they began to order with Tony in a booming voice. Only Steve nodded to Kurohane, "Thank you, Kurohane. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid we would truly be finished this time."
"Just call me Kurohane, don't be a stranger, Steve. By the way, Bucky and I are also good friends." Kurohane also smiled and nodded at Steve. He and Bucky hadn't said a word to each other, yet, at least they had been on good terms. Kurohane felt that what he said was true!
"Oh, there's one more thing. Don't be too sad about not getting the Soul Stone back," Kurohane continued, his voice softening slightly. "Because the condition for obtaining the Soul Stone is to exchange it for the soul of the person you love most. In the timeline where you successfully brought back the Soul Stone, Hawkeye and Black Widow both rushed to sacrifice themselves, and in the end, Black Widow was better at sacrificing herself. Hawkeye returned alone with the Soul Stone."
After Kurohane finished speaking, everyone looked at the two super agents with strange eyes. Hawkeye's face turned red then green, but Black Widow showed no shame. She merely brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and smiled at everyone, "Nothing happened between Barton and me."
"That's right! Nothing happened!" Hawkeye eagerly took over the conversation, and as a result, he made things worse the more he explained. This caused everyone's gazes to become even more abnormal!
However, in everyone's eyes, besides strange mockery, there was more respect. After all, to be able to resolutely sacrifice one's life for the chance to save half of all life in the Universe, this kind of fearless spirit of sacrifice, although everyone present could be called a superhero, people like the two of them were superheroes among superheroes!
Finally, Tony still caught a blind spot in Kurohane's words. He was indeed someone who had been Sherlock Holmes before. He frowned, pulled Kurohane aside, and asked in a low voice, "So you're like Stephen Strange, able to see the future!? Then what happened after we brought back the six Infinity Stones? Did we finally succeed? Did we win?"
"What can't be said? There's no need to be silent." Kurohane waved his hand and knocked Nebula unconscious, ensuring she wouldn't hear their conversation.
"In the ending I saw, you collected all six Infinity Stones, and then the Green Dr. Banner made the snap, bringing back all the life that disappeared five years ago," Kurohane began to recount, his tone flat. "However, the arm that made the snap was quite crippled, but fortunately Green Dr. Banner's physique is special, and after resting for a few years, that hand also returned to normal, no major problems."
Kurohane paused, glancing at Tony. "Then Thanos from 2014 came, guided by Nebula, and a huge battle finally ensued. The scene was immense, but in the end, you, Tony, made another snap with the six Infinity Stones, erasing Thanos and his Black Order, and only then did you win this war."
"What about me? What happened after I made that snap?" Tony swallowed nervously, and a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead. What Kurohane said was quite frightening, especially since he also had the identity of an Angel. It was natural for him to be a little mystical when speaking, and his credibility was very high!
"You? You died a horrible death!" Kurohane spoke bluntly, and patted Tony's shoulder hard. Tony shivered at the pat, but found that Kurohane transmitted warm energy, and even his somewhat irregular heartbeat became much calmer.
"But this isn't your fault, the only one to blame is that guy, Stephen Strange. After Thanos got all six Stones, he held up one index finger to you. What do you think that means?" Kurohane looked at Tony with a challenging gaze.
"Only if I make that snap, then it's our only chance to win?" Tony guessed, his voice hoarse.
"Perhaps he meant... for you to grab a Stone and fly into the sky?" Kurohane responded with a faint, almost apathetic smile.
Tony: (dumbfounded, his face a mixture of shock and irritation). This magic user is truly so sly!
Kurohane: (faintly smiling). Actually, perhaps he meant there's only one Sherlock Holmes in this world!
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