Chapter 217

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"I wonder what will happen to these interesting timelines later on?" 

"I personally feel quite pessimistic about it! After the death of He Who Remains, the TVA was thrown into chaos, with countless branch timelines rapidly spreading out, creating a total mess!" 

"Some higher-ups in the TVA adopted a ruthless policy, extremely blowing up numerous branch timelines." 

"I wonder if these timelines are included?" 

"Moreover, if the TVA really does this, I wonder if the Watcher would intervene?" 

"After all, the inhabitants of these branch timelines helped him against the Infinite Ultron." 

"Blow them up?" 

Tony Stark was truly agitated. 

"Wasn't it supposed to be reset?" 

"Why blow it up all of a sudden?" 

If a reset means correcting the deviation caused by a person, at most it changes one person's life. 

But blowing them up means annihilating an entire parallel universe! 

How is that possible? 

Does the TVA really have such terrifying abilities to blow up an entire parallel universe? 

That's simply horrifying! 

It truly shows that the TVA, an organization above time and space, is not something ordinary people can comprehend. 

Even someone of Tony's caliber was deeply shocked. 

Of course. 

How the TVA does it is not the key question; the fact is, they did it! 

It's not just changing someone's life anymore, it's a massacre, a total destruction! 

All the countless planets and creatures within that universe will be erased! 

How is this any different from Infinite Ultron? 

No, it's even much worse. 

Infinite Ultron only slaughtered life, not destruction itself! There's a fundamental difference between them. 

So, this is the TVA? 

The TVA that guards the sacred timeline? 

To protect one universe's timeline, they can commit such unforgivable acts on other universes? 

You must be joking! 

What gives them the right to do this? 

Suddenly, Tony, already not fond of the TVA, grew even more disdainful.

"Although the Watcher always emphasizes he just observes and does not interfere, he eventually agreed to Black Widow's request." 

"He sent the Black Widow to the universe where the Avengers were killed by Ant-Man, not to the original universe where the Ultron army slaughtered the whole Earth leaving only Black Widow alive." 

"This shows that the Watcher actually cares deeply; he might yet intervene." 

"So the question arises." 

"If the Watcher really does this, what would happen? This is definitely an interesting topic." 

"After all, both the Watcher and the TVA can freely travel through time and across multiple universes, which of the two is more powerful?"

"Just observe and not interfere?" 

Alright, that really fits the title of the "Watcher." 

But what exactly is the Watcher observing? 

Is he watching the development of the multiverse? 

Is he watching the "stories" of various timelines? 

Unfortunately, the difference in levels between us and the Watcher is simply too great. 

Apart from these guesses and speculations, there is nothing else to do. 

"The Watcher can also travel through time?" 

Nick Fury raised his eyebrows unintentionally in front of another notebook. 

The Watcher is even more powerful than he imagined! 

The notebooks had already spoiled that the Watcher is an existence above the multiverse. He can also traverse multiple universes to form alliances, indeed a major player. 

But no matter what, Nick never expected that apart from traversing multiverses, the Watcher could also travel through time! 

That's impressive, something only an institution like the TVA was believed capable of.

Is the Watcher, who can break all time rules, approved by the TVA? 

Or does the TVA, considering themselves the guardians of the sacred timeline, allow him to be? 

Or simply, the "Watcher," observes without interfering, so the TVA also ignores him? 

Nick Fury pondered some plausible guesses, but how it really works is unknown. 

After a bit of sorting through his thoughts, he turned his gaze back to the notebook, waiting for the next set of spoilers. 

However, the spoilers in the notebook abruptly stopped. 

Accustomed to such occurrences, Nick Fury didn't fuss much and closed the notebook with a snap. 

As usual, he summarized the key information from this spoiler, then began to dive into his regular work duties. 

On the other side, Tony did the same. 

Iron Man, after some minor adjustments, drove his luxury car back to the research lab. 

He arrived in front of Doctor Banner and Doctor Strange, planning to continue his research on Vision. 

"What's going on here? You guys seem happy," observed Tony as he entered the lab. 

The atmosphere seemed different; excitement and joy flickered across the faces of Banner and Reed. 

"Did you make some sort of breakthrough?" 

"I was only gone for a moment!" 

Tony scanned the two doctors, surprised. 

"It's not exactly a breakthrough, but there has indeed been some progress," Reed humbly explained. 

"I wouldn't just call it 'some progress'," added Banner enthusiastically, "Reed just came up with a computational logic I've never seen before, I believe it's crucial for decoding the scepter." 

"Oh really? What kind of algorithm?" Tony immediately showed interest, staring intently at Doctor Strange, "Did you try running it with Jarvis?" 

"I was just about to do that," Reed spread his hands and then swiftly operated the control panel, "OK, the algorithm is now online." 

"Jarvis!" Iron Man quickly called out to his reliable AI. 

Swish swish swish! 

Before he could finish speaking, projections around the scepter began to change. 

Numerous numbers and symbols emerged, flashing rapidly. 

Jarvis's voice promptly followed. 

"Sir, the new algorithm is highly effective! It allows complete decoding of the scepter!" 

"According to the current calculation speed, the entire decryption will be completed in five months."

Everyone present felt invigorated. 

"Five months, huh? Though it's a long time, we've definitely made some breakthrough progress, right?" The scepter no longer contained parts that JARVIS couldn't decode; it was now fully decodable! What does that imply? It implies that the Vision we created will no longer deviate from its intended purpose. There will be no more errors like Ultron, where a robot meant to protect humanity ended up wanting to eliminate it! Once the scepter is fully decoded, we can re-code it based on the decrypted data to ensure Vision's program is completely under control.

"Reed, that's some impressive work," Dr. Banner commented, not sparing any praise for Reed's commendable job. 

"Nick made the right decision by bringing you in," he added. Although Tony didn't say much, he gave Mr. Fantastic an appreciative glance and thought to himself, "He truly is the genius scientist as denoted in the journals!" Although Mr. Fantastic had achieved what he had not, Iron Man didn't feel lesser in comparison. Expertise differs after all. Tony had his own successes in areas Mr. Fantastic couldn't handle, didn't he?

"Alright, JARVIS, begin decoding," commanded Iron Man nonchalantly. 

"Understood, sir. Full decoding will commence, and I expect to have some good news in a few months," JARVIS responded. But then he added, "However, sir, you have visitors." 

Visitors? Could it be Nick Fury? That was the logical guess Tony made since, besides Nick Fury, no one else knew about this secret research base. However, when JARVIS projected the surveillance footage, Tony was surprised to see two unfamiliar women. Who could they be? Tony scrutinized them but couldn't place them. He instinctively glanced at Banner and Reed, who appeared just as clueless. Clearly, they did not recognize the two women either. So, why were they here?

"JARVIS, who are they?" Tony asked after a moment of thought. 

JARVIS promptly began to search for their identities and soon came back with surprising information. "Sersi, a researcher at the London Museum. Her life mainly revolves around London; she's a single, high-quality individual." 

"And the other? Sir, I can't find any information on her identity." 

Sersi? Tony tried to recall any relevant information about that name but came up blank. What could a museum employee from London want with him? As for the older woman who seemed to have lived through endless changes and bore a deep, historical demeanor, JARVIS couldn't find any information on her! This definitely seemed out of the ordinary.

"This might be very interesting," Tony remarked, hiding his alertness behind a casual demeanor. Without hesitation, he decided to meet these "strangers." After all, they had come all the way here. 

"I'll be back," he informed Banner and Reed briefly, then crossed various secured doors and corridors to finally arrive at the entrance.

Standing before him were Ajax and Sersi from the Eternals! Since deciding to resolve Thanos' problem using the Infinity Stones, the Eternals had been investigating these powerful artifacts. Despite such information being highly classified by SHIELD and the Avengers, their tremendous capabilities far exceeded that of many, allowing them to quickly gather the required intel. 

They naturally sidestepped the powerful Time Stone investigated by Kamar-Taj and focused on the Mind Stone, intensely studied by Tony, marking it as their primary target.

"Ladies, are you lost? Or perhaps you've come for a drink of water?" Tony greeted them playfully, known for his cheerful aid, especially towards women. 

"Mr. Stark, apologies for the intrusion," Ajax spoke seriously, ignoring Tony's lighter tone. "I am Ajax, this is Sersi." 

As if the situation couldn't get more mysterious – considering the identity was unknown, Tony couldn't even be sure if 'Ajax' was her real name. 

"Mr. Stark, we have something very important to discuss with you," Sersi added with a more solemn demeanor. 

"How important?" Tony still appeared slightly frivolous. "You wouldn't happen to want an exclusive interview, would you? Sorry, I'm booked for the next century." 

After exchanging a look full of mutual resignation, Ajax and Sersi realized that Iron Man was exactly as the rumors described. 

"Mr. Stark, we've come about the scepter!" Ajax got straight to the point, dropping all pretenses. 

Tony's demeanor immediately turned serious as he regarded the two members of the Eternals. 

"I prefer to keep things simple and direct, a more efficient way to communicate. Are you planning on wasting my time with roundabouts, or will you directly tell me your purpose and origins?"