Chapter 232: Iron Man: I Won't Time Travel Even If I Die

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With the sound of the prompt, a golden arrow suddenly appeared in the air, and the next moment, the arrow entered Clint Barton's body.

"Was that arrow just now the one that can pass through walls?" Scott Lang asked.

"Not really," Clint Barton explained, "That arrow wasn't a specific arrow. It's more like a symbol of the ability that space has granted me. The arrows I shoot are still material arrows, but now that I have this ability, I can make the arrows pass through objects at will."

"With your marksmanship and this phasing arrow, it's quite frightening," Natasha Romanoff commented.

"If it can pass through walls, does that mean you could even kill the Hulk?" Steve Rogers said, "The Hulk's skin is impervious to knives and bullets, but if your arrows can pass through walls, they should be able to go through his skin and hit his heart. In that case, the Hulk..."

"If that's the case, then the Hulk could indeed be killed," Bruce Banner said in a serious tone.

"Don't worry about that, Bruce. My arrows will never be aimed at you," Clint Barton quickly reassured.

"Having multiple solutions for the Hulk's problem isn't a bad thing," Bruce Banner said calmly.

At this moment, a beam of light appeared in the space, and a video began to play.

At the beginning, Steve Rogers was seen leaning back, talking to Natasha Romanoff, "I would've liked to cook for you myself, but you seem to be miserable enough."

"Are you here to do laundry?" Natasha Romanoff asked.

"Also here to see a friend," Steve Rogers said.

"It's obvious you have good friends," Natasha Romanoff replied.

"When I crossed the bridge, I saw a group of whales," Steve Rogers continued, "There were fewer ships, so the water became clearer."

"In the Hudson River?" Natasha Romanoff said, "If you're going to talk about the bright side, I'll throw a peanut butter sandwich at your head."

"Sorry, old habits die hard," Steve Rogers chuckled. He walked over and sat across from Natasha Romanoff, "I've always told everyone to let go of the past and move on, and some people have done that, but we can't."

"If I let go of the past, who's going to do these things?" Natasha Romanoff said, her legs propped up on the table.

"Maybe these things don't need to be done," Steve Rogers said.

"I was ignorant before, then I gained all this – this job, this family," Natasha Romanoff said, "It made me a better person, even though they're all gone, I'm still trying to become a better person."

"I think both of us need some private lives," Steve Rogers said.

"You go first," Natasha Romanoff said.

"Anyone there? I'm Scott Lang!" Suddenly, the monitor displayed someone shouting at the door, "We met a few years ago at the airport in Germany. I'm the one who can grow big. I was wearing a mask at the time, so you might not recognize me."

"Is this old information?" Steve Rogers stood up in surprise, after all, in his understanding, Ant-Man disappeared with Thanos' snap.

"Ant-Man! I know you guys know me," Scott Lang continued shouting, "I need to talk to you guys."

"That's the front door," Natasha Romanoff said.

"Have you two studied quantum physics?" Scott Lang asked immediately upon entering, posing a rather sophisticated question.

"Just a little bit," Natasha Romanoff replied.

"Okay, here's the deal," Scott Lang began explaining while gesturing, "Five years ago, just before the Thanos incident, I entered a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm has its own micro-universe, and to enter, you have to become incredibly tiny. Hope – she's my... she was supposed to pull me out, then the Thanos thing happened, and I got trapped inside."

"Sorry, that must've been a very long five years," Natasha Romanoff said.

"That's the problem, it wasn't long at all," Scott Lang continued, feeling hungry. He grabbed a sandwich and took a bite, "For me, it was only five hours. The laws of the Quantum Realm are different from this world, everything is unpredictable."

"Scott, what do you mean?" Steve Rogers asked.

"What I mean is," Scott Lang explained between bites, "In the Quantum Realm, time runs differently. Now the only issue is that we can't pinpoint a location within it. But what if we could? I've been thinking about this, if we could find a way to control this randomness and pinpoint a location within it? What if we could enter the Quantum Realm at a specific time and exit at another specific time? Like before Thanos snapped his fingers."

"Wait, are you talking about a time machine?" Steve Rogers summarized Scott Lang's meaning concisely.

"No, no, definitely not a time machine. Definitely not," Scott Lang quickly denied, "It's more like..."

"Exactly, it's a time machine," Scott Lang thought it over and couldn't come up with a better explanation, "I know, it sounds insane, but I've been pondering this. There must be a way, it's just too crazy."

"Scott, I once received an email from a raccoon," Natasha Romanoff said, "So, nothing can be considered 'crazy' anymore."

"Who should we discuss this with?" Scott Lang asked.

Who else could it be?

Everyone's gaze fell on Tony Stark.

Sure enough, the scene showed everyone at Tony Stark's home. When they arrived, Tony Stark was holding a young girl of a few years old – his daughter, Morgan.

With friends visiting, Tony Stark let Morgan play on her own, while he listened to Scott Lang recount his crazy time-traveling journey.

"No, we know this sounds crazy," Scott Lang concluded.

"Tony, after going through all of this, is there really anything that's impossible?" Steve Rogers asked.

"Quantum fluctuations reaching the Planck scale and leading to the De Broglie-Bohm interpretation," Tony Stark handed a few glasses of vegetable juice to Steve Rogers, "Can we agree on that?"

"Thanks," Steve Rogers accepted the vegetable juice.

"In simpler terms, it means we can't come back here," Tony Stark said.

"I came back," Scott Lang said.

"No, you just happened to survive," Tony Stark said, "It's a one in a billion chance. Now, you want to... what did you call it?"

"Time heist," Scott Lang said.

"Exactly, of course, a time heist. Why didn't we think of that before?" Tony Stark said, "Oh, right, because it's too ridiculous, like daydreaming."

"All the Infinity Stones are in the past," Steve Rogers said, "We can go back and get them."

"We can snap our own fingers and bring everyone back," Natasha Romanoff said.

"Or make things worse, right?" Tony Stark retorted.

"I don't think we will," Steve Rogers said.

"Sometimes I really miss your optimism," Tony Stark said, "However, if there's no reasonable and viable way to carry out this so-called time heist, hoping for the best is useless. I think the most likely outcome is mutual destruction."

"As long as we strictly adhere to the rules of time travel, it won't happen," Scott Lang said, "Like, we can't talk to our past selves? Can't bet on sports events?"

"I have to stop you there, Scott," Tony Stark interrupted Scott Lang, "Are you really telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on 'Back to the Future'? Really?"

"No," Scott Lang shook his head.

"Good," Tony Stark said, "You had me worried for a moment there. The principles of quantum physics aren't like that."

"Tony, we have to fight back," Natasha Romanoff said.

"We've fought back, but we're still in this situation," Tony Stark said.

"I know you have a lot of concerns. You have a wife, you have a daughter. But I've also lost people who were very important to me, many of us have," Scott Lang said, "Now, we have a chance to bring her back, to bring everyone back, and you're telling me that you won't even..."

"Yes, Scott, I won't even consider it," Tony Stark interrupted Scott Lang again, "I can't do it."

"Mommy told me to come save you," at this point, Morgan ran over and jumped into Tony Stark's arms.

"Good job, you saved me," Tony Stark lifted Morgan and said to Steve Rogers and the others, "I really wish you came to ask me about something else. Anything would do. I'm really glad to see you all, I just..." Tony Stark stood up holding Morgan, "By the way, I've prepared a lunch for six."

"Tony, I understand," Steve Rogers said, "I'm happy for you, truly. But this is our second chance."

"My second chance is right here, Captain," Tony Stark said, "I can't risk her."

The space darkened, and the video ended there.

"Tony, your daughter is adorable," Steve Rogers said first, "I'm happy for you."

"I'm happy too," Tony Stark grinned, "Knowing what my daughter looks like even before she was born, it's a strange experience."

[Question 11 begins, please be prepared.]

Soon, Question 11 began.

[When the Guardians of the Galaxy killed Ego, who placed the bomb beside Ego's brain?]

[A Rocket Raccoon]

[B Peter Quill]

[C Groot]

[D Gamora]

[Answer correctly to receive a Multi-Functional Portable Spaceship. Answer incorrectly, and one year of lifespan will be deducted.]

"Even spaceships can be 'portable' now, this quiz space really has all sorts of things," Thor couldn't help but speak up.

"Why a spaceship?" Peter Quill sounded somewhat disappointed, "I already have a spaceship, and I can get it through other means even if I didn't."

"The rewards in the quiz space might not be as simple as you think," Tony Stark said, "The 'multi-functional' description before 'portable' implies that this spaceship definitely has other uses."

"If there's something really cool about it, I'd feel better," Peter Quill said.

"Whether you can answer correctly is still uncertain," Loki sneered on the side, "Even if the reward is great, you still have to answer correctly."

"Isn't Ego Quill's father? Why kill Ego?" Scott Lang asked.

"Is this even a question? Ego wasn't a good person," Nick Fury said, "His behavior when he mentioned Ego in the previous video clearly showed 'he's a bad guy' written all over his face."

"Is my father really a bad guy?" Peter Quill looked at the question blankly. Even though he didn't want to admit it, the question was written clearly – they killed Ego.

"This question is strange. What does it mean by placing a bomb beside Ego's brain? Did the Guardians of the Galaxy enter inside Ego's body?" Steve Rogers said, "Could Scott and the Guardians of the Galaxy have worked together?"

"That's impossible, right?" Scott Lang said, "Besides defeating Thanos, I don't think I had much interaction with the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Could it be that Ego is really big?" Thor turned to Peter Quill, "Quill, your father is a giant, a really big giant? The bomb had to be placed next to his head to kill him?"

"That's impossible!" Peter Quill exclaimed, "How could my mom marry a giant?"

"Quill lived on Earth when he was young. If his father was really a giant, how could it have gone unnoticed?" Phil Coulson said, "If a giant appeared on Earth, I'm sure it would have been widely known."

"But if he's a normal-sized person, why emphasize placing the bomb next to the head?" Thor couldn't understand, "To kill someone, you just need to throw the bomb nearby. Why does it have to be beside the head?"

"Thor, it's not beside the head, it's beside the brain," Clint Barton corrected.

"It sounds like this Ego guy must have a super-sized brain," Thor said.

"Maybe, this Ego might not refer to Quill's father Ego, but rather to the planet Ego?" Tony Stark proposed another theory.

"Kill a planet?" Bruce Banner said, "That's a strange way to put it. Could it be that this Ego planet has life?"

"Raccoons can talk, trees can play games. If we say a planet has life, I wouldn't find it strange either," Stephen Strange said, "There are too many strange things in this universe."

"It's probably killing Ego the planet," Peter Quill said, "It's too unbelievable to stuff a bomb into someone's brain."

"Killing a person?" Natasha Romanoff said, "Quill, what makes you think your father is human? Do you remember when you held the Infinity Stone before? Thor said humans would die if they held the Infinity Stone, and Ronan was surprised by it. But if your father isn't human, and you have half non-human blood, then you being able to hold the Infinity Stone without dying can be explained."

"Natasha's right, Quill, your father probably isn't human," Thor said.

"Not human, then what is he?" Peter Quill asked.

"Who knows, with you being able to hold the Infinity Stone with your half-blood, he must be extremely powerful. Perhaps he has the ability to change his size, like growing really huge," Thor said, "If he became extremely, extremely big, then putting a bomb in his brain would make sense."

"Never mind stuffing a bomb in his brain, let's look at the options first," Peter Quill said, "I think we can probably eliminate Groot. Gamora probably has to be excluded too. Drax asked him to fetch the fin before, and he just can't seem to understand."

"With Groot's intelligence, I think even having him place a bomb would be a challenge," Phil Coulson said.

"Rocket Raccoon might have a chance. He's small and agile," Tony Stark said, "Compared to humans, he would find it easier to do this."

"Quill, what do you think?" Steve Rogers asked, "Is there a bigger chance for you and Gamora to do this compared to that raccoon?"

"I think it should be me. Regardless of whether this Ego refers to my father Ego or the planet Ego, it's definitely related to me. In other words, this is my business, and the Guardians of the Galaxy were just brought into it by me. Placing a bomb is such a dangerous task, I'll do it myself."

"I choose B!" Peter Quill made his choice.

[Answer incorrect! Deduct one year of lifespan!]

Wrong answer.

"Too bad, the portable spaceship is gone," Nick Fury said with regret.

"Even if you had it, it wouldn't be yours. Why do you have the expression of missing out on a billion?" Stephen Strange asked.

"I can still trade with Mr. Quill, can't I!" Nick Fury said, "Quill might not be interested in this spaceship, but right now, the entire Earth doesn't have a spaceship capable of interstellar travel. I'm really interested in this stuff."

"If you have something I'm interested in, I wouldn't mind trading," Peter Quill shrugged, "But as you can see, I got this question wrong, so I didn't get the spaceship."

"That's true, but I think the trade can still continue," Phil Coulson said, "Mr. Quill, if we provide the funding, do you have a way to get a spaceship?"

"Do you think my own spaceship just fell from the sky? Did I pick it up while strolling through the universe?" Peter Quill said.

"Fury, I think there's no need to rush this matter," Steve Rogers spoke up, "The Earth is too fragile now, its technological level lags far behind other planets. Earth is not yet ready to venture into the stars."

"I agree with Captain's words," Bruce Banner said, "We've seen how dangerous the universe can be, not just with madmen like Thanos, but also the constant wars between various planets. What if Earth entering the cosmos leads to such wars?"

"Alright, let's not bring up this matter for now," Nick Fury was persuaded.

At this moment, a light illuminated the space, and a video started playing.

At the beginning, Peter Quill was walking alongside a man with white hair and a beard. There was no doubt that this man was Ego.

"Now, you need to readjust your attitude toward life," Ego said as they walked, "Everything around us, including that girl, is temporary. We are the eternal ones."

"Wouldn't eternity become boring?" Peter Quill asked.

"Having a purpose prevents boredom, Peter. That's why you're here," Ego continued after a turn, "I've told you how I used an incessant impulse to seek out life many years ago, but what I didn't tell you is that I eventually found other life. But that left me..." Ego paused, thought for a moment, then continued, "very disappointed."

Peter Quill glanced at Ego, not understanding why he was disappointed.

"From that moment on, I deeply realized that my inherent desire to seek out other life wasn't meant to make me into that kind of person," Ego said, standing in front of Peter Quill, "Peter, I found the meaning of life."

Saying this, Ego reached out and tapped Peter Quill's forehead. Instantly, the universe began to shimmer in Peter Quill's eyes, and he saw scenes he had never witnessed in his life.

"I've seen it," Peter Quill had a dreamlike expression, "Immortality."

"I call it Expansion, that's my goal," Ego extended his hand, and stars began to appear in the sky, one after another, "Now, it's your goal too."

"Absolutely beautiful," Peter Quill hadn't fully recovered from the shock.

"I spent thousands of years. I implanted my essence into thousands of planets. I want to fulfill the ultimate goal of life." Ego stood there, using a model to simulate as he spoke, "Constant reproduction, constant propagation, covering the entire universe, until everything becomes me."

"Another one aiming for the universe!" Seeing this, Tony Stark couldn't help but interject, "What's wrong with our universe? Who did we offend? Why are so many people eyeing it?"

"This one wants to 'consume' the universe rather than destroy it. At least it's different from Thanos," Steve Rogers said.

"I had guessed that Quill's father wasn't simple, but I never expected him to be such a 'big shot,'" Stephen Strange said, "He has lived for thousands of years, and his life is eternal. He can even create things out of thin air. Calling him a god wouldn't be an exaggeration."

"This Ego looks human, but I'm curious about how to put a bomb in his brain." Scott Lang said.

"You said he 'looks' human. That definitely isn't his true appearance," Bucky Barnes said.

"I'm more curious about why Quill would want to kill Ego," Tony Stark said, "Just because Ego wants to consume the universe?"

"Immortality, is this Ego really immortal?" Loki chimed in.

"From the video, it seems so," Thor said, "He can actually achieve immortality!"

Even for gods, death was a certainty. Someone as powerful as Odin was now on the brink of falling, yet here was someone in front of them talking about immortality.

"This Ego, he might truly be a god," Thor muttered.

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[END OF CHAPTER]