Chapter 267: Thanos Shocked: I've Been Beheaded!

"Doctor Oberg is quite impressive. He noticed right away that Stephen was missing half of his body," Thor couldn't help but comment.

"At the very least, he has quite the sharp eye," Thor added.

"Usually, perceptiveness is tied to strength," Phil Coulson stated. "Without strength, how could one see through others?"

"And this library is a great place too," Natasha Romanoff said. "They have books on teleportation, telekinesis – all sorts of things. If we learn those, wouldn't that be like having various superpowers?"

"Stephen, do you know about this library?" Nick Fury asked.

"I've never heard of it," Stephen Strange replied.

[The fifth question is starting. Please be prepared.]

[Who did Thanos learn about his future beheading from?]

[A. Nebula]

[B. Gamora]

[C. Drax]

[D. Star-Lord Peter Quill]

[Answer this question correctly to receive the Honjo Masamune sword as a reward. Answer incorrectly, and one year of life will be deducted.]

"Thanos knew that I would behead him in the future?" Thor's demeanor grew anxious as he saw this question. "How could he know that?"

"Could it be that Thanos, like the Supreme Sorcerer, can foresee the future?" Scott Lang speculated. "But Thanos appears to be a warrior. He shouldn't be capable of that, right?"

"While Thanos is a warrior, he took the Time Stone from Stephen. Could he have used the Time Stone to foresee this future?" Peter Quill suggested.

"Just by looking at the question, it's clear that's not the case," Clint Barton said. "The question explicitly states that he learned this truth from someone, not through the Time Stone."

"It's indeed quite strange. None of the four options have the ability to predict or observe the future. How could Thanos have learned about it from them?" Peter Quill's brow furrowed, clearly puzzled.

"While they may not have the ability to foresee the future, Stephen does. Perhaps Stephen told them?" Natasha Romanoff proposed. "Before the major battle with Thanos, Stephen observed 14,000,605 possible futures, right?"

"If that's the case, then it's possible that it was Stephen," Peter Quill agreed. "Although he was quickly killed by Thanos' snap, there was still some time during which he could have told someone about this future. And at that time, Nebula happened to be with Stephen."

"That sounds reasonable, but Quill, don't you find something odd here?" Steve Rogers questioned after hearing this. "In the future Stephen observed, we win once. The winning strategy is to let Thanos snap his fingers, then go back in time, find the stones, and bring everyone back. The key point is going back in time to collect the stones. Whether Thanos' head is chopped off or not isn't important at all. So why did Stephen mention this, knowing full well that Thanos would soon collect the stones and snap his fingers?"

"Captain, I think you might be overthinking this," Stephen Strange said. "In the future, Thanos' head being chopped off is just a single event. It's not that strange for me to mention it."

"That's not right," Bruce Banner shook his head.

"Bruce, did you remember something?" Stephen Strange inquired.

"I think you probably didn't reveal the future to everyone at that time," Bruce Banner slowly spoke. "Let's assume Stephen did reveal the future. Wouldn't it make more sense to do it before battling Thanos and grabbing the Time Stone? Doesn't that timing seem more appropriate than waiting for Thanos to show up?"

"That actually makes sense," Clint Barton added. "Remember, during the battle, there was even that incident where Quill's hammer woke up Thanos. If Stephen intended to reveal the future, why not do it before the battle? That could have avoided such a bizarre occurrence."

"Maybe initially Stephen didn't plan on revealing it, but changed his mind after the battle," Peter Quill shrugged. "Apart from Stephen revealing it, can you think of any other ways the Guardians of the Galaxy could have learned about the future?"

"With the deaths of the Ancient One and Odin, among us, only Stephen has the power to foresee the future," Tony Stark pondered. "Although Stephen revealing the future has some inconsistencies, aside from him, there's no one else with the ability to foresee the future. So, the source of the Guardians of the Galaxy's information must be him. And he foresaw his own death, which happened during that brief period in Thanos' lair. During that time, the only surviving member of the Guardians of the Galaxy with Stephen was Nebula."

"So, I'm still going with Nebula," Peter Quill made his choice. "I choose A!"

[Correct answer! Reward distributed!]

A peculiar and eerie-looking knife appeared on the ground, emitting a faint blood-red light and a chilling aura that seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding air by a few degrees.

"This knife is not ordinary," Peter Quill bent down and picked up the knife.

A bizarre scene unfolded as the knife suddenly transformed into a puddle of blood and merged into Peter Quill's body!

"It's definitely not ordinary," Tony Stark remarked.

"Must be quite sharp, huh?" Steve Rogers asked.

"Indeed, very sharp," Peter Quill considered, then found a vivid comparison. "Like slicing through a tank's chunk of metal, it would be easy with a single slash."

"Great knife!" Steve Rogers praised.

"This knife is so chilling. Apart from its sharpness, does it have any other effects?" Phil Coulson inquired.

"It has two effects. One is a freezing effect," Peter Quill explained. "When using this knife, the surrounding air gets colder and colder. If you don't deal with me quickly, even if I can't kill you with a slash, you'll freeze to death."

"What about the other effect?" Nick Fury asked.

"Illusions," Peter Quill continued. "The demon sword will awaken your inner fears, causing you to be enveloped in a series of illusions."

"Great knife," Tony Stark also exclaimed.

"The design of this knife seems somewhat like a Japanese sword," Bruce Banner contemplated, "and the name sounds like a Japanese name. This knife should originate from Japan."

At this moment, lights lit up in the space, and a video started playing.

In the opening scene, Nebula and War Machine James Rhodes were together, looking up as Quinjets soared into the sky.

"The coordinates for the planet Vormir have been input. As long as they don't fall down, it's good," Nebula said.

"Alright, so we're waiting for this Quill to show up?" James Rhodes asked, "And then he'll lead us to find the Power Stone, right?"

"Let's find cover," Nebula suggested. "In 2014, we weren't the only ones looking for the Stones."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" James Rhodes asked, puzzled. "Who else is looking for the Stones?"

"My father, my sister..." Nebula turned to say, "and me."

"And you too?" James Rhodes couldn't help but ask, "Where are you right now?"

In 2014, Nebula was in a bloodthirsty killing spree, her combat prowess strong enough to overpower her enemies, almost as if cutting through vegetables. But with a moment's inattention, she was blown up by a bomb.

Her body was tough, so the explosion didn't harm her much, but it gave her enemies an opening.

A gun was aimed at her.

However, before that enemy could fire, they were knocked aside.

It was Nebula's sister, Gamora.

"No need to thank me," Gamora told Nebula.

"I didn't ask for your help," Nebula retorted coldly.

"But you still need my help," Gamora extended her hand toward Nebula.

Nebula let out a cold laugh and swatted Gamora's hand away.

"Get up, Father wants us back on the ship," Gamora didn't attempt to pull her hand back.

"Why?" Nebula sat there and asked.

"Father has found an Infinity Stone," Gamora revealed.

"Where is it?" Nebula asked.

"On a planet called Morag," Gamora said.

"This should be the Power Stone, right?" Excitement filled Tony Stark's voice as he read on, "We've already found all the Infinity Stones, except for the Power Stone, which is still missing."

"Undoubtedly, it's the Power Stone," Steve Rogers affirmed. "Of the other five stones, we know their origins, and none of them are on the planet Morag. Therefore, the Infinity Stone on this planet must be the Power Stone."

"After the quiz is over, I'll go to Morag with Yondu to search!" Peter Quill exclaimed, "I never imagined the Power Stone would be on such an abandoned planet."

"However, in the video, the time was 2014. Currently, the Power Stone might not be on Morag," Bruce Banner hypothesized.

"That's a possibility, but the year 2014 is quite close. There's a significant chance that the Power Stone is still on Morag," Thor stated. "The probability of success in going to Morag to find it is not small."

"If we get the Power Stone, we'll have all the Infinity Stones!" Clint Barton's excitement was palpable. "Then if Thanos comes looking for the stones, he won't find anything!"

"If I'm not mistaken, the Power Stone was the first stone Thanos found," Nick Fury chimed in. "And in the video, it was only in 2014 that Thanos set his sights on the Power Stone. So, the current Thanos probably hasn't begun his search for the stones yet."

"That's good news, at least Thanos hasn't started his plan yet," Thor said, "though there isn't much time left until he does."

"Thor, your judgment might not be accurate. Perhaps Thanos has already started his plan, but he just hasn't found the Infinity Stones yet. He only learned about the Power Stone on Morag in 2014," Natasha Romanoff speculated.

"Regardless of whether he's started searching for the stones now or not, the fact is that he didn't have any of the stones until 2014," Phil Coulson stated. "At this point, he doesn't possess any stone. He only targeted Morag in 2014, and after the 'spoilers' from the video, we know that he ultimately won't find a single stone."

"Father's plan has finally begun," Nebula said in the video.

"One stone isn't the same as six, Nebula," Gamora reminded her.

"It's a start," Nebula replied, "If he can obtain all of them..."

Boom!

As Nebula's sentence hung unfinished, a beam of light descended from the sky, and Thanos, holding his double-edged blade, walked out of the light.

"Ronan has found the Power Stone," Thanos informed Nebula and Gamora as he approached. "I'm sending you to his ship."

"He won't be pleased," Gamora muttered.

"If he doesn't cooperate, he will die," Thanos asserted dominantly. "Ronan's obsession has clouded his judgment."

"We won't let you down, Father." Nebula knelt before Thanos, gripping the dual blades in her hands.

From this scene, it seemed as if Nebula was incredibly loyal to Thanos. Little did anyone know that she harbored deep hatred for him.

"Yes, you won't," Thanos replied.

"I swear, I will make you proud," Nebula stood up, her tone resolute.

Yet, at that moment, sparks of electricity flickered around her head, and in evident pain, she sat down on the ground. Her eyes emitted uncontrolled light as images began to play.

"So we're waiting for this Quill to show up and he'll lead us to the Power Stone, right?" In the video, James Rhodes spoke to Nebula.

"Let's find cover," Nebula replied.

"What's happening?" James Rhodes was surprised as he continued watching, "The 2014 Nebula just broadcasted the events between me and her to the video! It's like the quiz space!"

"Considering how Nebula looks in such pain, this must have happened suddenly, beyond her control," Tony Stark said.

"I thought Thanos learned about his own beheading from Nebula directly. I didn't expect it to happen in this kind of 'spoiler' manner," Peter Quill admitted, quite astonished by this revelation.

"Though Nebula isn't a machine like Ultron, she's been modified by Thanos multiple times and is quite similar to a machine," Bruce Banner speculated. "Two Nebulas from different time-space periods being present in one time-space might have triggered some sort of connection between the systems, causing a sharing of certain memories. While I don't know the exact principle, it should be something like that."

"Since both the Nebula who executed Thanos and the Nebula who fought with him were there when Thor beheaded him, a portion of her memories has been broadcasted to the 2014 Nebula. Therefore, Thanos learned about it," Steve Rogers worriedly remarked, "but Nebula knows more than just Thor beheading Thanos; she's aware of our plan to go back in time to find the stones. Could Thanos know about this too?"

"The scene of James and Nebula searching for the stones has already been broadcasted, hasn't it?" Thor pointed out. "Whether Thanos knows or not, what difference does it make?"

"Whether Thanos knows the future or not, it doesn't matter. In the end, this Thanos will still be defeated," Loki nonchalantly added, "Even though he learned the outcome of this battle in advance, the process will still be quite thrilling."

"Loki's right. What does it matter if Thanos knows the future? He still ends up defeated," Thor concluded.

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[END OF CHAPTER]