Chapter 192

Future chapters at patreon.com/FFAddict. Additionally, I have many new works readers may be interested in. Go look! Thanks!

Everyone's actions were still very swift.

Just after the other Tony Stark had left, the future Avengers quickly completed their move and temporarily settled in a new secret base. However, the future Avengers had no idea that their efforts were ultimately futile. The past Tony Stark could directly locate the Tesseract. As long as they carried the Tesseract, it was akin to carrying a beacon, constantly exposing their location.

For a group of future Avengers without omniscient perspective, it was naturally impossible for them to know this. Compared to the other Tony, everyone was more concerned with how to collect the Infinity Stones.

"JARVIS has completely taken over their security system; I can't break through it anymore."

"From the clues we have, calling their defenses impenetrable would be an understatement."

"Given that Cricket Boy can't shrink the scepter anymore, this mission will be extremely difficult."

Future Tony Stark spoke gravely to his companions, revealing a heavy fact.

"How could this be?"

Future Captain America's brows furrowed deeply. "Why does this era's Nick Fury have such a close relationship with you?"

This was very unusual! When the Avengers had assembled during the Battle of New York, they didn't trust each other at all. There was even significant wariness towards Nick Fury, the so-called 'king of spies'. They had even uncovered SHIELD's secret weapon research using the Tesseract.

So why would Tony in this universe help SHIELD build their security system, and why would Nick Fury trust JARVIS with such an important base?

Chaos!

Real chaos!

And this wasn't good news at all. If FRIDAY couldn't take over the system, their mission would become much more difficult. Even understanding the base's defense forces wouldn't be easy. They would need Ant-Man to scout the base personally.

"Scott, it looks like you're up next..."

Future Captain America turned his gaze to Future Ant-Man.

"I understand, leave it to me!" Future Ant-Man accepted without hesitation. Such a reconnaissance mission required his abilities.

"Be careful!" Future Cap solemnly warned. The people in this parallel universe seemed formidable, putting even Future Cap under pressure.

Future Ant-Man nodded and quickly set off.

"Everyone, the situation is worse than we imagined."

Using his advantage of shrinking, Future Ant-Man snuck into the base storing the scepter and observed the extensive security arrangements with dismay. 

"Nick Fury's defenses are way too exaggerated."

Future Ant-Man muttered, feeling the odds of retrieving the scepter were almost impossible.

"I have to say, this situation is extremely bad." Even Future Tony and Future Cap couldn't help but frown deeply after hearing Future Ant-Man's report.

Tony admitted, "On one hand, we don't want to escalate the conflict with our past selves, which would defeat the whole purpose of our mission. Even though we started with a 'no matter what' mentality, there are still lines we won't cross. On the other hand, the kind of defenses Ant-Man described are simply beyond our capacity to handle."

The truth was, things were genuinely very thorny for them.

However, they didn't realize this was only the beginning. Soon after, Future Hulk joined the group and brought even worse news.

"Sorry everyone, the mission was a failure."

Future Hulk looked downcast. Despite giving his all, he hadn't succeeded.

Future Hulk lamented, "That bald woman is just too strong. She easily knocked my soul out of my body. I was like an ant before her, completely powerless. If she hadn't shown mercy, I'd be dead for sure."

"What happened, Bruce? Did Strange refuse to hand over the stone?" Future Cap asked, eyes fixed on Future Hulk.

"No, Strange isn't the Sorcerer Supreme yet; he's still a surgeon. The Time Stone is with the Ancient One."

Future Hulk explained the situation: The Ancient One easily expelled his soul, and his attempt to persuade her failed. Unlike in the movie, where the Ancient One trusted Strange's future and handed over the Time Stone, this time was different. A metaphorical butterfly had flapped its wings, altering the future and the fate of key figures like Doctor Strange.

"Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj?" Future Tony's expression grew darker. Knowing the Ancient One's formidable power from their encounters, they realized that if she refused to hand over the Time Stone, they had no means to take it by force.

"I'm sorry for letting everyone down."

Future Banner hung his head low, his voice filled with loss and self-blame. He felt he had ruined everything for everyone.

"No, Banner, we also encountered some problems on our side."

Future Captain America shook his head at Future Banner and briefly explained the situation with the scepter. Future Banner's brow furrowed deeply: "So, we can't get the Time Stone or the Mind Stone?"

This was extremely bad news, a heavy blow. The scene fell into silence, and the atmosphere grew oppressive. The future Avengers exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to say.

While no one wanted to admit it, they couldn't deny the truth in Future Banner's words. Given the current situation, the likelihood of obtaining the other two stones seemed slim.

"Maybe we should try another way."

After a moment of silence, Future Tony's voice broke the heavy stillness. Future Banner didn't understand what Future Tony meant, but Future Captain America caught on immediately.

"Are you considering the other you's suggestion?" Future Captain America glanced at Future Tony to confirm.

"The other Tony? Cap, what do you mean?" Future Banner looked puzzled, unable to understand the cryptic conversation between his two companions. Future Tony then explained to Future Banner about the visit from the other version of himself. 

Future Banner immediately fell into deep thought. "I think we might give it a try," he concluded quickly. Doctor Banner, after a brief consideration, agreed it was feasible.

Although it was unclear why the Avengers in this time period knew about future events, since their identities and goals were exposed, cooperation couldn't hurt. After all, these past Avengers were trustworthy, and retrieving the Time Stone and scepter had proved too difficult. Everyone seemed out of better options.

"Scott, what do you think?" 

Future Ant-Man, still outside "reconnoitering," had his communication channel open and could hear the discussion.

"I've been wanting to say that it seems we have no other choice," Future Ant-Man's voice immediately sounded through the channel.

After a round of discussion, the future Avengers happily reached a consensus.

"Friday." Future Tony didn't waste any time and issued an order to his trusty AI, "Say hello to your 'brother.'"

"Understood, boss!" Friday replied and promptly began contacting JARVIS.

In an instant, Tony at the SHIELD base received an alert from JARVIS.

"Sir, it seems your negotiation was successful. I just received a message from the other you, the future Avengers are willing to return the Tesseract." Tony perked up immediately.

Captain America, who had been strategizing to retrieve the Tesseract from the future Avengers, also perked up. So did the other Avengers present.

"Are they agreeing too easily?" Captain America still had doubts. The other side had gone through great lengths to steal the Tesseract; would they now return it after just a bit of persuasion by Tony? Could this be a trick?

Additionally, Tony informed Captain America of his discovery during the negotiation—their identities were those of their future selves. This conclusion still troubled Captain America, making it hard to accept. Despite his extraordinary experiences, time travel was still too far-fetched.

"Rogers, this isn't the 70s anymore; it's a new era." Tony shrugged nonchalantly, "We have gods on Earth now. What else can't happen?"

"If you put it that way, I do miss the 70s. The biggest monster back then, aside from Red Skull, was me." Captain America joked, but he remained vigilant. His planned operations, however, were temporarily paused.

Naturally, Captain America relayed this crucial information to Nick Fury and all the Avengers. They decided to seize this rare opportunity for negotiation offered by the "future people" and talk things out.

Thus, Tony continued to communicate with Future Tony, and they eventually agreed on a time and place to meet. Both sides showed up as planned.

The Avengers' delegation consisted of Tony, Captain America, Black Widow, Doctor Banner, and Nick Fury. Red Guardian and Hawkeye stayed to guard the scepter. All future Avengers attended the meeting.

Everyone stared at their counterpart, the atmosphere more awkward than words could describe.

"So, you really are me?" Captain America scrutinized the future Captain America, finding no visible flaws but still feeling incredulous.

"No way, Hulk not raging? I can't imagine that!" Doctor Banner stared at Future Banner in disbelief.

"I'm not Hulk. I am Banner. No, I'm not completely Banner either. I am both Hulk and Banner," Future Banner explained earnestly but only managed to confuse everyone more. After much clarification, Banner finally understood that in the future, Hulk and he had merged into one, leaving him utterly stunned.

"So, your nano armor really comes from Wakandan tech?" Tony fixated on this question, asking his future self with great seriousness.

In summary, the meeting between the different timelines' Avengers was harmonious and pleasant.

"OK!" After brief introductions, Captain America got down to business, "Before we begin, shouldn't you return the Tesseract to us?"