The battle began instantly.
Tony Stark rocketed toward the Sentinel, then looped over its head. His arm unleashed a barrage of small missiles that sliced through the air like a swarm of angry hornets aimed straight at the Sentinel.
Tony had read Marvel comics and knew how terrifyingly powerful the Sentinel could be in them. But facing the Sentinel before him now, Tony still had doubts.
He knew from Wong that the comic Multiverse lay adjacent to their cluster of universes. Compared to the comic universe, many extraordinary beings here were generally much weaker. After all, Thor, who could split realities with a single bolt in the comics, was only a god of Mjolnir here. Adam Warlock, who could substitute for the Life Tribunal in the comics, was a bumbling fool here.
So what if this Sentinel was similarly weakened?
For that reason, Tony only deployed his weakest weapons. It was just a test.
Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova followed behind him, also firing small missiles as a trial. From a distance, Hawkeye drew his bow, arrow ready and trained on the Sentinel, poised to strike at the first sign of movement.
Every missile converged through the air, their trajectories narrowing on the Sentinel.
Since appearing, the Sentinel had stood motionless, arms down, like a lifeless statue. But at this moment, it finally responded.
The figure lifted its head slightly. Its eyes reflected a stark white glow under the spheres of illumination. Then it raised an arm, and a telekinetic force expanded outward.
All the incoming missiles instantly froze in place, suspended like frozen raindrops.
Then, without warning, they shot back toward the Avengers at unimaginable speed.
Tony's expression tightened. His palm cannon flared to life and fired two brilliant beams of light that cut through the darkness, vaporizing the returning missiles.
"Is it telekinesis, a force field, or molecular manipulation?" Tony muttered.
Now he fully realized the Sentinel's true strength.
Not just Tony — everyone sensed it. This sentinel was far stronger than they expected.
"Everyone, be careful!" Captain America shouted.
But his cry only drew the Sentinel's attention.
Those white, black‑hole‑like eyes locked onto Captain America.
The arm that had just repelled the missiles rose again, aimed directly at him.
From a source invisible to the others, immense power descended at terrifying speed.
"Captain!"
Wanda Maximoff, closest to Captain America, shot her hand forward and unleashed Chaos Magic.
Boom!
There was thunder within this silence.
No physical impact occurred, yet Wanda's scarlet magic shield was ripped apart by massive ripples of force.
Invisible power collided with Chaos Magic, exploding in a shockwave that sent Captain America and Carter flying like birds struck mid‑flight.
Fortunately, Wanda's magic caught them before they fell.
The Sentinel's initial strike had no wind‑up whatsoever. Its speed far exceeded even Captain America's reaction capabilities. Even if Captain America had instinctively raised his arms in defense, his superhuman body was utterly outmatched by the sheer strength of the Sentinel's strike.
"Watch his arms. His attacks are very fast. You have to dodge in advance!" Captain America cried as he regained balance with help from the thrusters on his ankles.
The speed of that invisible attack was astonishing.
In fact, only Wanda reacted in time. Pietro, not yet in his super‑speed state, and Tony, now in reconnaissance armor, couldn't clearly perceive what had just occurred. Wanda had been strengthened to Skyfather level by Wong's "magic guidance," which was why she could respond.
"Something's wrong. His strength is far beyond what we imagined. Everyone, retreat behind me," Wanda warned.
Compared to Captain America, who still wanted to push forward, Wanda had already sensed the horror of the Sentinel's power from their encounter.
Everyone stared at her in surprise.
Pietro curled his lip and grumbled, "Wanda, you're overreacting again. This is just an Earth‑level crisis. Let me get my gear. I can handle him myself."
Having faced multiversal threats, Pietro believed no villain short of cosmic annihilation could emerge from a single planet like Earth.
"Shut up. Get over here!" Wanda snapped.
She prepared to cast a Chaos Magic shield for everyone.
But before she could act, the Sentinel's first strike reached its next moment.
The Sentinel tilted its head, watching Wanda as she shouted to the others.
As Wanda began conjuring her shield, the Sentinel's finger twitched.
Whoosh!
Banner, who had been guiding the mystic carpet, instantly flattened into a silhouette on the carpet by an invisible force, as though struck by a blade that turned his entire body two‑dimensional.
"Dr. Banner!" Hawkeye shouted.
But in the next moment, he too became a dark imprint on the carpet.
"What!? Everyone scatter! Let me—" Tony's pupils tightened as his hand hit his chest, initiating an armor switch.
But he was too late.
Natasha, Yelena, Pietro, Captain America, and Tony were all reduced to flattened shadows by the Sentinel's invisible power.
Only Carter remained airborne because Wanda's magic shield had prioritized her.
"Steve! Tony!!!" Carter cried as another invisible blast sent her flying, though she no longer cared about herself. Horror filled her voice as she looked toward where Captain America and Tony had just been.
Cold dread and rage crept into her heart.
Wanda was equally distraught, her hair wildly tousled as Chaos Magic surged around her. But before she could act further, she detected something else.
At the spot where everyone had turned into shadows, Wanda sensed a faint trace of spatial teleportation.
This was advanced magic she had studied deeply.
"It's spatial teleportation. Where did you send them!?" she shouted.
Scarlet magic washed outward from Wanda, instantly clearing away the surrounding shadows for kilometers. The dark world turned red beneath a blood‑tinted night sky. Wanda's casual clothes transformed into a flowing, form‑fitting magic robe, and a crown formed on her forehead from pure energy.
She glared at the Sentinel and said, voice ringing with authority, "Return them now."
…
"Damn it, am I having a pre‑death flashback? Where's Wong? Wong, come save me."
Tony pressed his hand against his chest as his reconnaissance armor switched to Anti‑Superman Armor.
But his eyebrows shot up as he looked around, eyes wide like he'd seen a ghost.
He found himself in a bedroom.
A luxurious, spacious bedroom with a bed four or five meters wide. The walls glowed softly with blue and pink lamps. French windows were frosted over, blocking out any view of the starry night beyond.
On the bed, two bodies writhed together, entangled and making muffled sounds.
Tony leaned back slightly. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming.
Because one of the figures on the bed was him.
And it was the Tony of his youth.
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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