Wait!

This chapter has a song.

I was a little discouraged because when I wrote it, I had another song in mind, but in the end, I didn't think it matched the chapter, so I replaced it with this one, which I thought worked better. But maybe it doesn't quite fit the chapter since I wrote it with another song in mind.

Anyway, the song is [I Want You Back - The Jackson 5]. If you're going to listen to it, play it when Tony hears the beat and the name of the song appears.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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"Sylvie?!" I blurted out, looking dazed at the blonde with the green hood on the other side of the portal.

The blonde, who until a second ago couldn't care less about me, froze for a moment and looked at me in surprise.

She then swiftly drew her sword from her waist and pointed it at me, assuming a combative stance with narrowed eyes.

"How do you know that name? Are you with the TVA? But even the TVA doesn't know that name, so how?" She regarded me with caution and hostility.

Her majestic and threatening pose was interrupted by a giant rock falling behind her, sending her flying into the portal... which incidentally led to my side.

"*Cough*Cough*" She coughed and waved the dust away with her hand as she got up from the ground, swiftly retrieving her sword and assuming a fighting position again, facing me.

The portal behind her, leading to an apocalyptic world, was destroyed due to the impact of the meteorite.

"Don't make me repeat myself! How do you know that name?" She said with narrowed eyes and authority in her voice as if nothing had happened before.

"You'd better dust off your face and body and fix that messy hair before making threats. It doesn't work so well like that." I commented, amused by her attempt to make demands despite her disheveled and dusty appearance from the meteorite impact, but then I started massaging my temple.

In reality, I wasn't amused at all. This woman here is a real headache.

"Why were you hiding in a post-apocalyptic world? Wasn't the TVA already destroyed?" I asked, puzzled.

But she put her sword to my neck and spoke threateningly.

"Stop talking nonsense. How could the TVA have been destroyed? Now answer, how do you know that name and who are you?" Sylvie was losing her patience.

"Girl, every minute you're giving me more of a headache, and put that down, it's dangerous. What if you hurt someone?" I continued massaging my head more fiercely, pushing her sword aside with the tip of my index finger.

This left her confused and angry.

"I need to make a call." I said, raising my hand, where nanobots appeared and formed a cellphone, which immediately dialed Yao.

Do I need to create a cellphone to make the call? Absolutely not, but I have a headache and I want to take it out on the source of my headache.

And it seemed to work.

I immediately dodged the strike aimed at where my cell phone was.

Sylvie raised an intrigued eyebrow at me.

She then struck again, and I dodged.

The beat of a song began to play from the walls.

[♫ I Want You Back - The Jackson 5 ♫]

I jumped, avoiding a stab aimed at my feet.

"Who put the music on?" I asked, amused, crouched and dodging a stab aimed at my head.

[Boss, it was me, Friday. Heard that music makes a fight more fun.] Fridey said confidently.

"Well, I'm not sure if this music fits the situation." I said, amused and helpless, spinning to the side and avoiding a thrust.

"Fight, coward!" Sylvie said, irritated that I wasn't paying attention to the fight, and continued swinging her sword.

I looked at her with a teasing smile. 

"Sorry, it must hurt to have this going through me... that's what she said!" I tried to say with a serious face, but couldn't contain the smile for long.

"I've seen better. You're not even trying." Sylvie said, not amused by my joke, still fighting.

I paused for a brief moment and let slip, "...That's what she said." 

"Arrghh!" She roared in anger and swung the sword quickly, but I dodged all the strikes. 

Seems like I managed to annoy her.

It was at this moment that the call I had made connected.

["Tony, what's the matter?"] Yao's voice came from the phone.

"Yao, were you expecting a female version of Loki to pay us a visit today?" I asked, dodging the strikes.

"Don't call me Loki!" Sylvie said, irritated, increasing the speed of her strikes and launching some green energy blasts to the beat of the music, which I also dodged.

*BOOMM*BOOMM*BOOMM*

["Oh, Sylvie's arrived? I was so caught up with Strange's things that I forgot to mention."] Yao said without caring, but I knew she was being naughty.

"*Sigh* Why are you being mischievous at a time like this? This girl means trouble. Why did you forget to mention something important like this?" I asked, helpless, massaging my head.

["Maybe because you forgot to mention something important, like dreaming about a celestial killing an alternate version of yourself."] Yao said calmly, but I know she's annoyed.

"Sigh My future self ratted me out, damn it. Can't even trust myself these days." I said, frustrated and amused, striking a Matrix pose to avoid the sword.

["Tony, we're a team. You have to trust us. About Sylvie, it's alright, the issue isn't as big as you think... Because if it were, I would have discussed it with you earlier."] She said, the last part with a lot of emphasis.

"Okay love, I just didn't want to ruin the day, and you know I would have told you about it eventually anyway. I'll try not to do it again." I said, apologizing.

It wasn't a big deal, so we didn't continue arguing.

["Okay, dear. When I get home, we'll discuss what's going on with Sylvie. Right now, I have to canonize Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme. Love you!" Yao said and hung up.

"*Sigh*" I sighed in relief, performing a sideways roll to dodge another strike. 

Now that I was reassured by Yao, I felt lighter, ready to have some fun with Sylvie.

Dodging another strike, I looked at her playfully. "Your strikes carry the experience of many fights, but they lack technique." I said as a sword formed by nanobots appeared in my hand.

She swung the sword in a side slash that I blocked. She tried to kick me while the attack was being blocked, but I quickly abandoned the defense, and I could only do that because I had blocked her sword in a way that I could quickly disengage and step back, throwing her off balance, and with a kick, I made her fall to the ground.

I walked up to her, she tried to get up quickly, but before she could do anything, I kicked her sword away.

She smiled when she saw me approaching and reached out with a green light, attempting to touch my leg.

I swiftly dodged her hand. "Trying to charm me, you naughty girl, Sylvie." I said, amused.

Sylvie looked at me dazed, then smiled seductively at me.

"Wait, we're not enemies. I was just confused. After all, it's not every day that someone says a name you've given yourself, and everyone who's heard it has died. But I'm tired, and I need some peace of mind, and it's only now, looking at your face, that I see how handsome you are, big guy. I think we got off on the wrong foot. How about we sit and talk?" She stopped fighting and showed her willingness to surrender, smiling at me and extending her hand.

I smiled back and reached out to help her up.

"I usually have that effect on women." I said arrogantly, holding her hand.

A green light emerged from her hand and entered mine.

My expression faded as the light entered my body.

Sylvie smiled. "You're good, but a little stupid. I didn't even try to deceive you for real, I thought it would take a little longer to lower your guard." she said triumphantly.

"You look cute when you're triumphant." My expression returned to normal, and I said, amused.

I was just pretending before. I have magical protections on my body and mind.

Sylvie widened her eyes and moved back defensively.

She gritted her teeth, turned around, and ran towards a wall in an attempt to escape.

Reaching her waist, she grabbed a small device, the TemPad, which allows her to travel through time and the multiverse.

"Wait!" I shouted, reaching out my hand, trying to stop her.

Unfortunately, she didn't hear me and manipulated the TemPad, continuing straight for the wall where she was planning to open the portal to escape.

But the door she expected didn't open, and she hit the wall face-first.

After a few moments of silence, she fell backward, unconscious from the impact.

On the wall, the shape of a sunken face appeared before being corrected by the nanobots.

"Why didn't you listen? I was trying to say that I swapped your TemPad for a fake one when you came in." I said with feigned helplessness, raising the real TemPad in my hand.

Then I shook my head and said aloud, amused, "Note to self: Speak faster next time."