With a pair of high-flying escorts leading the way, their trek to Stark Tower was cut down to a fraction of the time.
The tower hadn't lost power—and even if the city's grid had flickered out, Tony's lab was backed up by its own independent power supply.
They were here for two reasons. First, Tony was itching to get his hands on the technological breakthroughs his future self had cooked up.
The nanotech suit, in particular, was practically the suit of his dreams. Just the thought of armor that could fluidly morph into shields or blades on a whim made his pulse race.
Beyond upgrading Tony's arsenal, the group's second objective was to see if they could synthesize a cure by studying the undead.
There was no shortage of "test subjects" available; a quick stroll through the tower revealed plenty of wandering zombies to go around.
During the flight, Peter filled Tony and the other Avengers in on the current situation. They had established a temporary stronghold for survivors.
It wasn't just Peter, Hope, and the high-maintenance Cloak of Levitation waiting there—Tony's driver Happy, Steve's old friend Bucky, and his former flame Sharon Carter were all hunkered down, along with a Mr. Kurt, a friend of Scott Lang's.
"Wait... Bucky? Bucky is alive?" Rogers asked, his voice thick with disbelief.
"Uh..."
As soon as the question left Steve's lips, the excitement Peter felt at seeing everyone withered into a sudden, awkward numbness.
He wasn't sure if he should be the one to tell him. After all, Bucky had been the spark that lit the fuse between Mr. Stark and the Captain—a rift that had torn the entire Avengers team apart.
Peter's face was a map of internal conflict, and Rogers, sensing the shift, felt a cold knot of dread tighten in his chest. "Did something happen? Something bad?"
"Captain, I think the crisis at hand is a bit more pressing than history lessons," Natasha cut in.
As Rogers turned to her, she gave him a small, steady shake of her head. This wasn't just the future; it was a parallel universe's future.
Just as Madam Herta didn't exist in their world, the answers he found here might not apply to his own life. Digging too deep would only lead to a headful of ghosts and unnecessary distractions.
Steve felt her meaning clear as day. His heart sank, but he dropped the subject. Peter let out a long, shaky breath, though he made a mental note to keep his mouth shut for a while.
The air in the room turned heavy and brittle.
Rogers knew he was the one who had soured the mood and was just about to apologize when the two Banners emerged from the lab. Both were shaking their heads, looking worn out and grim.
"Not going well?" Natasha asked. She already had a hunch, but someone had to break the silence.
"It's... complicated. This isn't a virus you can just flush out in an afternoon. Honestly, we're still debating if 'virus' is even the right word," the older Banner said.
"We've detected a foreign substance that's hijacked the limbic system, forcing the brain into a state of permanent, violent overdrive, but we can't find a way to interfere with it."
"It's not a substance from any periodic table we know," the younger Banner added with a sigh. "Unless we're prepared for the results to get significantly uglier, our hands are tied."
He took a breath and laid out the cold reality. "If we start blind experimentation, there are three likely outcomes. One: it mutates, turning the patient into something even more unknown. Two: it worsens, overloading the brain until it simply fries, leading to total brain death. Or three: we clear it and actually save them."
"Before we move to clinical trials, we need to understand the true nature of this... well, let's call it a virus for now."
"So, they aren't just 'zombies'? They're still living patients?" The Avengers' expressions grew clouded at Banner's phrasing.
On one hand, it was a relief—it meant their initial, hopeful theory was right. If there was a cure, there was a chance to bring everyone back. But on the other hand... they had "dealt with" quite a few wandering patients on the way here.
Even knowing they couldn't blame themselves for surviving, that realization was a bitter pill to swallow.
"I think you guys might want to see this first."
Tony stepped out from a neighboring lab, beckoning the group over.
Once everyone had gathered around the desk, he tapped a few commands into the futuristic interface his counterpart had built, projecting a signal Jarvis had intercepted onto the tabletop.
"What am I looking at?" Rogers asked, staring at the stream of cryptic data and flickering images.
"A broadcast. Someone is claiming they've developed a cure for the plague. The location was buried in a non-linear hexadecimal code." Tony tapped the desk again, decrypting the string into a set of coordinates.
"Camp Lehigh, New Jersey," Natasha and Clint said in unison.
They traded a quick look before Natasha continued, "That was SHIELD's very first base of operations. In terms of equipment, they'd definitely have the facilities to mass-produce a vaccine, but..."
"The defenses are practically non-existent," Clint finished. "It's all flat ground."
"So they're sitting ducks for a siege from every direction?" Rogers frowned. This didn't sound like a win just yet. "Tony, when was this sent?"
"Just a little while ago." Tony waved off his concern. "There's no SOS attached. Maybe they really did crack the code and have the situation under control."
That thought took some of the tension out of the room.
"Even so, we should move fast," Rogers nodded. He looked over at Parker, his face regaining its usual stoic resolve, though the flicker in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil. "Are you coming with us?"
Everyone knew he wasn't just talking about Peter and Hope.
"Of course! We're stronger if we stick together!" Peter chirped, not overthinking it. He had no intention of leaving his friends behind.
"Alright. We'll regroup with the others and move out." Rogers turned back to Tony.
"Yeah. I've already backed up all the tech specs I need," Tony said, though a shadow of confusion crossed his face. "Funny thing, though—there isn't a single spare suit in this entire place."
It felt off.
Normally, he'd have a dozen contingencies waiting in the wings of his workspace. Did my future self get so cocky with the nanotech that he didn't keep physical spares? Even then, where's the raw nanometal?
Tony, unaware that in this timeline the team had long since moved to the Avengers Compound, couldn't quite wrap his head around it. But he shook the thought away and kept going.
"We can't update my wardrobe right this second, but there is something here we can use."
Tony smirked. "There's a chopper on the roof. We can use it to pick up your friends, then head straight for Jersey."
The news of a helicopter was a godsend. With a collective nod, the group sprang into action.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.