CHAPTER 132 - OPERATION: TIMEHEIST IS A GO I

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A/N: Minor mistake in the chapter title

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[Vision POV]

We ended up staying a few days and despite how advanced this city was, its security couldn't completely prevent me from getting into a few places.

I half entertained the thought of forcefully overriding this planet's AI security systems but the consequences that came with stopped me from fancying those thoughts any further. Not when we stood to risk being branded as criminals of a power that spanned over 100 galaxies.

It's not like our strength was invincible to them - they had an impressive roster of powered individuals; not to mention their weapons.

Ignoring those intrusive thoughts, I collected as much information as I could from the people I came across in these past few days.

As far as I was concerned, apart from the two parties involved, no one had a concrete visual proof if it had really been the Time Stone, but it had to be if everyone was so sure of it.

[Calculating probability ratio of the Time Stone being in Thanos' possession than Xandar's:.. 54:43:3%]

'I'm guessing the 3% is the miniscule chance of it being in the hands of a third party?'

[Affirmative]

With nothing else to do, it was time to permanently depart from this planet. From this point onwards will be us speedrunning the mission.

It is strangely poetic how pressed for time we were, basically against a last minute clock, in retrieving the Time Stone.

"We'll be doing a series of jumps from here on and also split into two 2-man cells to increase speed and overall efficiency once we start actively searching for the stone."

We were currently in space, basically the endpoint of our space exploration tutorial, as I gave the rough outline of our actions going forward.

"Sif and I will be heading in Thanos' possible direction, while Pietro and Wanda will be dealing with the Xandar's front."

"Won't it be better to go with sis when facing Thanos? It'll be hard to find people who can easily overpower the both of you, so why not?" At least he was sensible not to make an obscene joke at this juncture.

I expected a question like this so I easily explained the logical reasoning behind my decision.

"If I tag you and Sif together, no offense Sif, but you'll be captured in no time if they find a way to deal with Pietro as his basic abilities are as straightforward as can be." I paused, noting that Sif didn't show any immature outbursts at being called weak, and continued.

"If I pair her with Wanda, though the versatility of Wanda's magic can compensate for most things you might face, against a moderately strong and large force, Sif's efficiency will be reduced as Wanda will naturally take the brunt of it. Meaning Wanda's focus will mostly be on fighting back the enemy's stronger fighters, once more making Sif an easier target to take care of. Do also note that these scenarios are me basing the enemy forces being equal or stronger than us, with them also having the number and terrain advantage."

I can see that Sif is angry at me blatantly calling her a liability in higher level battles, a bit harsh on my part, but all I speak are facts.

I don't have the problem of using emotions when making important decisions like everybody else I know, so this is the unbiased and purely logical conclusion of our current match-up.

"I'm more flexible and versatile than you and Wanda in chaotic situations, and coupled with better decision making skills and overall efficiency, pairing Sif with me is the only way to wring out her efficiency in the upcoming battles."

As I finished, Pietro awkwardly scratched the back of his head as his eyes wandered everywhere except in Sif's direction. "Well, that's… There was no reason to go that deep, you know."

"I would disagree, but that's unimportant right now. I've downloaded all the information you'll need going forward and they'll be updated real-time with every situation you find yourselves in, ensuring maximum efficiency at every turn."

"Any questions?"

"Why put us in Xandar's direction while you Thanos? Just curious." Wanda asked.

"The chances of you dying upon capture by Xandar's forces are lower, at least when compared to being captured by Thanos." I said.

Wanda frowned a bit, trying to keep worry and overprotectiveness at bay. "And you think sending someone with an Infinity Stone in his direction is a good idea?" She raised a valid concern, one I already put in consideration when making the decision to split up.

"It is also a much needed crux if the stone is really in his possession."

After that, a few questions were raised and I answered all of them with pre-calculated ease.

With a series of spatial jumps, we arrived at what was basically a space checkpoint where Wanda and Pietro separated from us by boarding one of the shrunken ships in my possession.

As for how I came into possession of seven deep dive spacecrafts, well they don't call me the negotiator for nothing.

"You've been uncharacteristically quiet for some time now." I stated as if making a passing observatory remark.

Sif breathed in and out while tightly clenching the sword hanging off her waist. "You did call my capabilities as a warrior lacking. Or what was the word you used? I think it's 'inefficient'."

"Is this you complaining or a simple case coming to terms and accepting one's weakness?"

"…I'd say it's me accepting my weakness, and having my warrior pride stung from said weakness being casually pointed out." She said, somewhat calm.

"I see-"

"But that doesn't mean I will keep accepting it. Watch me, Simons, as I gradually cut down those weaknesses you spoke of." She loudly proclaimed but I said nothing to either acknowledge or discredit her words.

The upcoming fights would do just that.

°°°°°°°°

[With Wanda and Pietro]

One of the reasons why Vision also sent Wanda and Pietro in Xandar's direction was because in the case of the Time Stone already in their possession, they might not have to fight at all.

The Time Stone being secured under Xandar's watch was one of the best alternatives to the multiple likely scenarios that could otherwise happen.

If it turned out that it was already safely stored away, Wanda and Pietro would then regroup with Vision(after stealing it of course) and decide whether or not they wanted to attack the Mad Titan. Maybe give him payback for the New York invasion.

After going through rigorous security checkups and verifications, Wanda and her brother finally were allowed entry into Xandar's airspace for landing.

As their ship slowly descended, the two of them could already make out a few powered aliens, especially those flying, all part of the local force.

"So how are we doing this? Should we mind-jack one of them or go 007 with swiping cards and impersonating officials?" Pietro asked.

Wanda scoffed at how stupid the second part of his suggestion sounded. "Unless you can hack their systems for our entire duration here, then no we are not impersonating a high enough government official with the clearance for the information we need."

Pietro shrugged. Vision's projected timeframe didn't leave them room for exploring more options and the stress for efficiency made them choose the best thing they had, caring little for the ensuing fallout.

As they conversed around the framework of the plan they would act on, they heard a series of banging on their ship's hatch.

"Here goes nothing." After an adorable twin-exclusive handshake, the two of them opened the hatch and stepped out to meet the small group of waiting enforcers.

"I don't have to remind you that any business you conduct will be strictly monitored, and any instances of stirring up trouble will have asses collared up, do I?" The presumed leader of the group asked.

"Sheesh man, you didn't have to come all the way over here just to tell us that. And yes, we'll be on our best behavior because we don't want Puss'n'boots hounding our behinds all the way." Pietro flipped off the enforcer and walked away from them with Wanda in tow.

"Got him?" He whispered.

"Got him." She nodded.

°°°°°°°°

[Vision POV]

Unlike the twin's straightforward mission, we couldn't just make our pit stop on Thanos' shop, the Sanctuary II, and begin our mission.

From the information I got from Thor concerning Thanos, it would seem that his flagship mostly resides in a hidden pocket space whose coordinates are known to but a few of the Mad Titan's most trusted subordinates, the Black Order.

But the Black Order is not the only way for me to get to Thanos' ship as I had another one – two other ways to get – and that was the angle I was currently working out.

Thankfully this universe wasn't strictly similar to the cinematics with varying changes, both big and small while some remained the same.

Peter Quill and his Guardians of the Galaxy which currently included Gamora, and the cybernetic-implanted blue Luphomoid, Nebula, were my way to Thanos.

My sights were Nebula rather than Gamora as it's more efficient and less time-consuming as opposed to dealing/reasoning with Gamora and the Guardians.

Lucky for me, one of the info bits I acquired during our few days of extended vacation contained her last sighting and the broker she made purchase with.

A simple mind reading session and I'll have Nebula's location, and then Thanos'.