"So, you came to me?"
Noah rested his head on one hand, casually turning something that looked like a watch in the other.
He looked at Tony-outwardly calm, anger barely restrained-and finally let out a quiet sigh before speaking.
Honestly, Noah had expected this kind of mess to happen.
He just hadn't thought it would come so soon.
And the most ironic part was this-
Tony had only discovered that Bucky was his parents' killer because of Noah.
If Noah hadn't accidentally let something slip while showing off, Tony might still not know even now.
What Noah hadn't anticipated was Tony's next step.
The Quantum Realm.
That was what bothered him.
Tony thinking along Steve Rogers' line of action already felt strange, but what Noah truly couldn't read was why Tony wanted to do it.
Save his parents?
That was impossible.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
The river of time wasn't something you could casually interfere with.
Go to a parallel universe?
That didn't make much sense either.
Just to... meet them?
Noah shook his head.
"Forget it," he said. "Tell me directly. What exactly are you planning to do?"
He sighed again.
Clarifying things was better than wandering around blind.
That was a lesson learned through years of overthinking and paying the price for it.
"What I want to do..."
Tony finally snapped out of his thoughts and gave a bitter laugh.
"If possible, I want to go back in time."
"That won't work," Noah said immediately. "You wouldn't be able to stop yourself. I know you too well. You'd do what you think is right-and destroy everything in the process."
"Is that so?"
Tony shook his head, then asked again, "What if it's a past parallel universe?"
Noah's hand stopped moving.
The watch-like object froze between his fingers.
After a moment, he nodded.
"If it's a parallel universe," Noah said slowly, "then I can agree. Because in another universe, you already did something similar."
Tony's eyes lit up instantly.
That single sentence meant approval.
Approval from the magical world.
If the magical world didn't object, then the opinions of the ordinary world no longer mattered to him.
What intrigued Tony even more was this-
Another version of him had already done it.
Tony knew Noah had traveled across universes, but he had no idea when Noah went or when he returned.
This time, he had only brought that unlucky doctor along to test his luck.
He hadn't expected Noah to still be here.
Which meant one thing.
He was lucky.
"Can you tell me about that version of me?" Tony asked with a smile, the tension easing from his shoulders.
"That universe?" Noah tilted his head. "It didn't have me. Hundreds-maybe thousands-of years ago, something went wrong with the mages, and their magical inheritance was severed. The magical world there never recovered. Of course, Kamar-Taj still exists. And there's a Sorcerer Supreme."
"Wow," Tony blinked. "Sounds uncomfortable. Forget that-tell me about me."
"You?"
Noah glanced at him, then casually tossed the watch-like object over.
"Funny enough, this thing is your creation. I got it from Thor. He said it was a gift from you in that universe."
Tony caught it, eyes narrowing.
"A cosmic locator?"
"Yes. It prevents temporal drift on the body and locks spatial coordinates."
Noah shrugged.
"When I saw it on Thor, I already knew what that version of you was planning. Honestly, Thor had no idea what it was for, otherwise he wouldn't have dared bring it back so casually."
Since it was already back, Noah didn't mind handing it over.
If Tony wanted to play, he might as well play properly.
"As for that version of you," Noah continued, ignoring Tony as he examined the device, "if I hadn't intervened, the ending would've been bad."
Then Noah told him everything.
What would have happened.
What did happen.
When he finished, Tony's face had gone completely grim.
"So," Tony said slowly, "the only solution that Sorcerer Supreme predicted... was for me to snap my fingers?"
"I don't know," Noah replied. "But you did it."
"And I died?"
"Yes."
"And Pepper's daughter-Morgan-grew up without a father?"
"Yes."
Tony was silent.
"But none of that will happen," Noah added. "Because I was there."
He spread his hands and stopped speaking.
Tony needed time.
Noah could tell.
After all, that version of Tony had gone back and met his father.
Which was exactly what this Tony wanted.
Noah stood up, shook his head, then paused.
"By the way," he said, glancing at Tony, "you brought someone with you, didn't you?"
"Huh?" Tony blinked, then remembered. "Oh. Right. A doctor. Hands are messed up. Came to try his luck. His name was... Steve? Stephen? Anyway, last name's Strange."
"...Strange?"
"Yes. Strange guy."
-
Stephen Strange sat quietly in the great hall of the London Sanctum.
His worldview had already collapsed.
He had just finished watching a movie at the Stark Theater in New York.
Then he ran into Tony Stark.
Then, somehow, they agreed to go to London together.
Strange thought it meant flying.
When he offered to book tickets, Tony stopped him.
They returned to the Stark Theater.
In a room without cameras or people, Tony put on a ring.
And then-
He started drawing circles.
At first, Strange thought it was a trick.
Then a faint golden ring appeared.
When it fully opened, Strange saw sunlight on the other side.
Morning sunlight.
It was two in the morning in New York.
And seven in the morning in London.
Strange was stunned.
Tony stepped through the ring without hesitation.
After a brief pause, Strange followed.
He knew that if he didn't follow now, Tony would never bring him to see the mages.
And at that moment, Strange was certain of one thing.
Tony Stark was a mage.
Crossing through the ring, Strange arrived in London.
The sensation reminded him instantly of that mysterious sorcerer during the Battle of New York.
Following Tony, Strange soon felt disoriented.
Because at some point, Tony vanished.
And Strange found himself led into this place by means he couldn't understand.
This place.
This world.
An orange cat chasing an owl.
A beeping robot wandering nearby.
Furniture that moved on its own.
Young people in robes summoning books out of thin air.
Everything was incredible.
Everything ignited his heart.
Tony went to meet the owner of the house.
Strange didn't dare follow.
He sat quietly.
Waiting.
He didn't know the rules here.
And he didn't dare break them.
He waited.
And waited.
Time passed.
He looked around again.
Victorian architecture mixed with modern elements.
An exhibition area nearby, filled with unknown artifacts.
A library to the side, where young sorcerers read silently.
"What a wonderful place," Strange thought.
And then-
He felt dizzy.
The world twisted.
And in the next instant, he found himself standing inside an office.
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