(AN: Announcement!!
1. I need another 1 week hiatus.
Reason: For a better chapter! Updating a chapter as soon as it's finished is slow. It also makes the story feel all over the place without focus. So I need more time than normal.
2. Update schedule change: I will be updating the chapters per arc from now on. That way, readers gets to read fully and not wait long for what happens next. And me the author gets more time to focus on other things too.
3. No Patreon. I don't think it's right to get your support unless I can give what is required. It could change but not any time soon.
4. Ending is Kang's arc where MCU was unable to explore due to the dude playing the character(y'all know what happened), for now.
Here's the Chappie, enjoy:'P )
"For now, you can call me Dark Jedi." he said.
"Doesn't that means you're a bad guy?" Scott asked, confused.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, Dark Jedis allied with the a sith lord who are bad guys. It's an obvious star wars logic!"
"Huh, you're not wrong." Elias realized his blunder.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"You're not Loki."
"No," Elias agreed.
"He's probably busy being dramatic back at home."
Bruce crossed his arms.
"Then why are you here? What do you need from us?"
Elias gestured casually, and two familiar energies flared briefly behind him—blue and yellow echoes dancing in the air.
"You came for Infinity Stones," Elias said.
"And I have what you need, and what I want is just a simple hitch ride then come back here after you used my stones."
Tony's breath caught despite himself.
"And yeah, the Space Stone and the Mind Stone were given to me." Elias answered without hesitation.
Scott's eyes widened.
"He just—he just said that like the stones are freebies."
Elias' gaze shifted to Bruce.
"The Time Stone however," he continued, "is not mine to give."
Bruce nodded slowly, understanding dawning.
"We need to visit the sorcerer's house."
"Correct," Elias said.
"You'll need to convince the Sorcerer Supreme yourself."
Tony stared at him, gears spinning.
"You're awfully cooperative for a guy who just admitted he's sitting on two cosmic nukes."
Elias met his eyes evenly.
"I'm not your enemy today, Iron Man."
The way he said today made Steve uneasy.
"So," Elias finished, stepping aside slightly, giving them space—as if he truly wasn't worried.
"You have a sorcerer to persuade and a universe to save."
His eyes glinted beneath the hood.
"Shall we proceed, Avengers?"
.
.
.
New York — Sanctum Sanctorum
Rooftop, Afternoon
The city breathed beneath them.
Traffic hummed distantly, sunlight glinted off glass and steel, and atop the Sanctum Sanctorum—utterly removed from the noise—Hulk sat at a small wooden table far too delicate for the body he no longer occupied at the moment.
Across from him, serene as ever, sat the Ancient One, pouring tea as though the fate of reality wasn't hovering nearby.
For a brief moment, it almost felt normal.
Then her fingers twitched.
Bruce was translucent and very much not green stared at Ancient One.
"I'm dead." he sighed.
"You're not dead Dr. Banner. I simply pulled your astral form from your body. Not your soul entirely."
The Ancient One regarded his soul calmly.
"But enough of that for now. she said
"Tell me why you've come for the Time Stone."
Bruce floated closer, hands raised placatingly.
"Okay. So. Long story short—half the universe died, we messed up, and now we're borrowing Infinity Stones from the past to undo that."
She didn't react.
"So," he added quickly, "no pressure."
Her eyes sharpened and shows an illusion of the stones holding the fabric of reality or timeline itself.
"If I give you the Time Stone, I doom my timeline. Remove it, and darkness takes its place."
Bruce was now uneasy. He wouldn't want to endanger others to save his own. So he thought of a solution.
"That's true, but—we'd bring it back the exact moment it was taken. No branching timeline. No doom."
"And how are you so certain that you will return the stones?"
"We will, I promise."
The Ancient One studied him for a long moment.
"You ask me to gamble reality," she said softly, "on your promise that you will win. I'm sorry Dr, I cannot gamble my reality on it."
Bruce,now frustrated, asked.
"Then why would Strange give it up?"
The Ancient One stilled.
Bruce pressed on, voice steadier now.
"If the future version of you trained him that the time stone is meant to be protected, ehy would he give it up?"
"Willingly?"
"Yes!"
Silence stretched.
The wind tugged gently at the Ancient One's robes.
Finally, she looked at Bruce—not as a supplicant, not as a thief—but as a fellow guardian.
"Strange," she murmured, "was always meant to be the best of us."
She extended her hand.
Green light spiraled from nowhere, coalescing into the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone glowing within.
"If he gave it away," she said, "then it must have been the only path left."
Bruce exhaled, relief flooding his face.
"Thank you. We will return it correctly."
With a gentle push, she returned his soul to his body.
And Bruce finally completed his mission.
.
.
.
Moments Later
Tony was mid-argument with Steve when Bruce landed back beside them, the Time Stone secured.
"That took longer than I hoped," Tony muttered.
"Everything cool?"
Bruce nodded.
"Yeah. We're good."
Elias stood a short distance away, hood down now, arms folded just watching them.
"All stones accounted for," Elias said evenly.
Steve glanced at him.
"You're coming with us?"
Elias smiled faintly.
"Of course I am. It was the deal."
With the Space, Mind and now Time stones in their possession, Tony activated the return jump.
Blue light swallowed the street.
Reality folded.
And in an instant.
They were gone.
Back to a future that was still broken.
.
.
.
Avengers Compound —
The Supposed Future
Quantum Platform
The machine screamed with light.
Blue-white rings spun faster and faster as coordinates locked, timelines snapping into place like loaded chambers.
One by one, figures flashed into existence on the platform.
From Asgard—Thor and Rocket, the Reality Stone secured.
From Vormir and Morag—War Machine, Clint… and Nebula.
Two of them, though no one noticed that yet.
The Power Stone clutched tight.
The Soul Stone heavier than it looked.
From Earth, 2012—Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Professor Hulk and one more presence, hooded and clearly doesn't belonged to their timeline at all.
Elias stood still, careful not to draw attention.
The machine powered down.
Silence rushed in.
Clint was the first to move.
Or rather—collapse.
He dropped to his knees the moment his boots hit the floor, the sound dull and final.
His shoulders shook.
"Clint?" Steve said quietly.
No answer.
Rhodey looked around, confusion turning sharp.
"Where's Nat?"
The question hung there.
Too long.
Tony's eyes scanned the arrivals again.
Counted. Recounted.
His jaw tightened.
Bruce froze.
Rocket's ears slowly lowered.
"Clint," Thor said, voice rough.
"Where is the Romanoff?"
Clint didn't look up.
He just shook his head.
Once.
That was all it took.
The room understood.
No dramatic reaction followed. No shouting. No denial.
Just a collective, crushing weight.
Tony turned away, rubbing a hand over his face, arc reactor glowing steadily as if mocking him with consistency.
Bruce's massive hands curled into fists, knuckles creaking.
Only Thor seemed doing fine, despite carrying more loss than everyone in the room.
Even Scott, who barely knew her, felt the hollow ache settle in his chest.
Elias watched it all without moving.
His expression didn't change—but something ancient and cold passed behind his eyes.
Thor finally spoke, voice hoarse. "Why is everyone like this? We got the stones."
That broke something.
"We'll bring everyone back," he said firmly.
"We will. We'll fix this."
Clint's head snapped up.
"No."
The word cracked through the room like a gunshot.
Thor faltered.
"What—?"
"No!" Clint shouted, scrambling to his feet, eyes red, wild, furious.
"Don't you dare say that like it fixes this!"
The room froze.
"We can bring everyone back," Clint continued, voice breaking, hands clenched so tight his knuckles went white.
"Everyone dusted. Everyone lost."
He swallowed hard.
"But not her."
Thor's expression collapsed.
"Oh…" Thor breathed, the weight finally sinking in.
"She… she gave her life."
Clint laughed once—short, bitter, hollow.
"She didn't give it. She fought me for it. She wouldn't let me be the one to fall."
No one spoke.
Steve stepped forward slowly and placed a hand on Clint's shoulder.
"We'll finish this," he said quietly.
"For her."
Clint nodded—but didn't look convinced.
"…We have to," he muttered.
"Because if we don't—then she died for nothing."
The team moved to prepare the gauntlet.
The plan resumed.
But grief lingered in the air like smoke.
And while everyone focused on what they had lost.
Nebula slipped away.
Quiet. Unnoticed.
Except by one.
Elias's hooded gaze followed her for just a fraction of a second longer than necessary.
Something was wrong.
Of course he knew.
That was why, when she moved.
So did Elias.
Not openly. Not hurried.
Just a subtle shift—one step that mirrored hers, his hood turning a fraction in her direction.
Then Tony cleared his throat loudly.
"Okay, before anyone does anything dramatic." Stark said, clapping his hands once to pull attention.
"I'd like to formally acknowledge the… very intense guy in the robe."
Nebula froze mid-step.
Not by choice.
Invisible pressure held her exactly where she stood—upright, still, eyes flicking sideways in irritation she couldn't mask.
Tony pointed a thumb at Elias.
"This is—brace yourselves—the Dark Jedi."
A few eyebrows rose. Thor frowned. The rest tensed.
"Relax." Tony added quickly.
"He's on our side. Very much on our side. Mainly because he's currently holding two Infinity Stones and didn't kill any of us when he absolutely could've."
Elias remained silent.
Tony kept going, pacing slightly.
"Also, quick fun fact—when we went back to 2012? No invasion. No Chitauri. New York was… peaceful. Weirdly peaceful. Almost boring."
"That's because—" Tony started.
"Introductions later," Elias cut in, voice calm but sharp enough to slice through the room.
"Focus on the problem."
Tony blinked.
"…Uh, what problem?"
Elias turned his hooded gaze toward Nebula.
"Her."
Nebula scowled.
"What?"
"She doesn't belong here," Elias said evenly.
"All of your time signatures align with this reality, to this timeline."
He took a step closer.
"Hers does not."
A murmur rippled through the room.
Rhodey frowned.
"You're saying she's—"
"Mostly not from this timeline." Elias continued.
"But there is one part of her that is."
Nebula's eyes widened just a fraction.
Elias raised his hand.
With a flick of his fingers, the orange cybernetic plate embedded in Nebula's face detached—lifting cleanly away as if gravity no longer applied to it.
The component hovered in the air, slowly rotating.
Nebula gasped, genuine shock breaking through her composure.
Elias closed his hand.
The telekinetic pressure vanished.
Nebula staggered—then caught herself.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Steve hesitated. Tony frowned. Bruce tilted his head, uncertain.
When Nebula saw it, she thought she's been had.
And a criminal who was busted does only one thing.
She ran.
"Don't let her escape!" Steve shouted.
Too late.
Clint was already drawing.
The arrow flew—silent, precise—wrapping around Nebula's legs in a tight restraint and yanking her off her feet. She hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop.
The room went still. Contrary to what she believed, not one soul believed Elias, until she ran away.
Tony exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. Okay. I believe you now."
Elias lowered his hand.
"Told y-" he was about to say but was cut off.
A system prompt appeared.
End of chapter