In the shattered timeline where everything had gone wrong, Tony moved fast.
He laid out the truth about Nebula without hesitation, pulling the data straight from her neural systems using FRIDAY. The evidence was undeniable.
The room went still as the pieces fell into place.
Then Clint Barton spoke.
Natasha.
Gone.
The price of the Soul Stone.
No one said anything for a moment. The silence carried more weight than any speech.
Tony broke it.
"We've got all six Stones," he said, voice steady. "We stick to the plan. We bring everyone back."
Thor stepped forward immediately. "I'll do it."
He stopped mid-stride, noticing the blood on Rocket's fur. "You okay?"
Rocket waved him off, though his voice sounded strained. "Yeah… just a little dizzy."
Bruce frowned. "You two went to Asgard for the Aether. What happened?"
Thor's expression darkened. "That timeline's Asgard… it's gone. Overrun. Everything there wanted to kill us on sight. We grabbed the Aether and got out."
That was enough to tell them something had gone very wrong in that universe.
Steve stepped in. "Rocket, go patch yourself up. We'll call you when it's done."
Rocket didn't argue. He nodded and staggered toward one of the rooms.
As he walked, a strange hunger gnawed at him.
He'd eaten before the mission.
But it felt like it hadn't mattered.
He chalked it up to exhaustion.
Back in the main room, the decision came down to one name.
Bruce Banner.
The gauntlet was assembled. All six Stones locked into place, their combined energy radiating like a contained storm.
Bruce slid his hand inside.
His face twisted instantly, muscles locking as power surged through him.
Then—
Snap.
The universe shifted.
Across existence, the erased returned.
Life, restored.
Bruce collapsed to one knee, smoke curling from his arm.
Tony rushed forward, deploying a mist from his suit to stabilize the damage.
Clint didn't wait. He ran outside, already dialing, desperate to hear a familiar voice on the other end.
Tony stood, already moving.
"I'm returning the Stones," he said.
Steve blinked. "Since when do you have extra Pym Particles?"
Tony held up a small vial. "Long story. Let's just say past me—and someone else—had my back."
He removed the Time, Space, and Mind Stones from the gauntlet.
Activated the particles.
And vanished.
To Noah and the other Tony, it felt like a blink.
One moment he was gone.
The next—
He was back.
"Done?" Noah asked, already reaching for the Stones.
Tony handed them over. "It worked. Thanos shouldn't be a problem anymore. But… Natasha didn't make it. And we still need to fix Nebula."
Noah nodded once, indifferent.
The Stones were returned. The deal was complete.
After a brief exchange, Future Tony prepared to leave.
And did.
Then came back.
Again.
This time, his armor was wrecked. Scorched, fractured, barely holding together.
Tony's eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you?"
Noah frowned slightly. "Don't tell me Thanos came back."
Future Tony shook his head, something like fear flickering behind his eyes.
"…Not Thanos."
A pause.
"Zombies."
Silence.
Tony blinked. "I'm sorry—what?"
Noah stared at him.
That word didn't belong in this script.
At all.
For a split second, even he looked genuinely caught off guard.
Then—
He moved.
The Space Stone ignited in his hand, blue light expanding outward in a ripple.
In an instant, Earth vanished.
Gone from the solar system entirely, displaced into the void.
Inside the White House, Wilson Fisk looked out the window—and saw nothing but black space.
"…Did the planet just disappear?" he asked, stunned.
"No," Noah said calmly. "I moved it."
He didn't elaborate.
Didn't need to.
"If there's a contagion involved," he added, "I'm not letting it spread."
He turned back to Future Tony.
"Start talking."
Piece by piece, the story came out.
After leaving Noah's world, Future Tony had continued his mission.
Another timeline.
Another deviation.
A world already infected.
Rocket had been bitten during the chaos on Asgard—but no one recognized the danger. They didn't even know what they were dealing with.
They thought it was just another battle wound.
By the time Steve checked on him—
It was too late.
Rocket had already turned.
And once he fed—
The infection spread fast.
Systematically.
Efficiently.
Within three days, Earth was lost.
Tony stared at his counterpart. "You're saying your entire planet is gone?"
Future Tony nodded slowly. "Three days. That's all it took."
Noah's expression didn't change.
"If that world runs out of food," he said quietly, "they won't stop. They'll move on."
The implication landed instantly.
Tony's face paled.
"That means—"
"The multiverse becomes their buffet," Noah finished.
Both Tonys went silent.
That was a level of disaster no one had planned for.
Then Noah smiled.
Not warmly.
Not reassuringly.
Just… decisively.
"It's fine," he said. "You coming here actually works in our favor."
Future Tony blinked. "What?"
"As long as you're here, time in your universe is effectively paused relative to us."
A second later, a violet glow flared to life.
The Power Stone appeared in Noah's hand, energy crawling up his arm in jagged, pulsing veins of light.
Raw destruction, contained in a single grip.
"I just need to get there before it spreads," Noah said.
His tone was almost casual.
"Erase the problem at the source."
He looked at Future Tony and extended his hand.
"Give me your time-travel device."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't worry. I'll keep it simple."
"Just wiping out one infected planet."
...
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