So here's the question:
Why would Captain America think that someone who looked like him was actually Loki?
Thinking back to Loki's earlier illusions at the Dark Energy joint base, Tony naturally made a deduction.
Loki's illusion powers aren't just limited to creating his own image—he should be able to create illusions of others as well!
Or rather:
As a god from Asgard, Loki's mastery of magic isn't limited to simple illusions.
He could very well transform into someone else entirely.
So maybe that other Captain America mistook the future Captain for Loki in disguise?
If that's the case, logically, it makes sense.
But at the same time, if this were true, it would make the current situation even more complicated.
The Avengers might not just be under Loki's control—they might actually be Loki himself in disguise!
Of course, this was all Tony's speculation.
Though Tony thought the possibility was high, there was no direct evidence for it.
Yet one thing was absolutely certain for him: no matter what, Loki should always be taken seriously.
After all, he is a god from Asgard!
Also, the future Iron Man and Ant-Man!
To get the Tesseract, the two of them coordinated, pulling off a massive scheme against the past Iron Man.
They even nearly stopped past Iron Man's heart—what a close call.
But as fate would have it, just as the Tesseract was within reach, the enraged Hulk ruined everything.
Plans rarely survive contact with reality.
The Tesseract was taken by Loki, who then made a quick escape.
It had finally happened!
Tony Stark, staring eagerly at the diary, suddenly became fully alert.
Finally, it mentioned his future self?
Of course.
No matter what the future Avengers were doing—whether it was just for the scepter or some other mission—Tony, at his level, knew they must have an important role.
He had to be a main protagonist in this "time-traveling drama"!
Sure enough, the diary mentioned him.
Captain America's mission was to get the scepter—so what was Tony's?
"The Tesseract?"
"I should have realized!"
Tony's expression shifted as he felt he had connected the dots.
The Tesseract—space stone!
It made sense. For the Avengers to go through all this trouble, time travel included, it had to be something of great importance.
Infinity Stones—collectible by Odin himself—definitely matched this level of significance.
The diary had previously mentioned that the future Avengers were indeed collecting Infinity Stones, and even Black Widow had died during such a mission.
So this was the future Avengers' time-traveling mission to collect the stones?
Tony hadn't expected that this mission involved time travel.
The Avengers' future collection of the stones was actually taking place in the past.
Tony had to admit—they were bold.
Even Tony couldn't help but admire it silently. The Avengers with him at the helm—impressive.
Wait!
Tony's expression suddenly tightened. He realized something crucial:
If the future Avengers traveled to the past to collect the Infinity Stones, why did future Cap steal the scepter?
Could the scepter itself contain an Infinity Stone?
"The Mind Stone!"
"I know how the Mind Stone came into play!"
The thought struck Tony like a lightning bolt—everything became clear.
The diary had just mentioned the Mind Stone.
Though it didn't go into detail, the name indicated it was related to soul and mind powers.
And Loki, the Asgardian prince?
He could manipulate the minds of others.
He had just controlled Black Widow's mind!
What did this mean?
All the pieces clicked together: the Mind Stone must be hidden inside the scepter!
Unbelievable. Loki's scepter was such an important artifact.
So the Mind Stone used by future Tony and Ultron to create Vision came from Loki's scepter?
In that case, Loki really was giving away the stone, unknowingly or not.
But there was one question:
Why did future Tony and Ant-Man need the Tesseract, yet deliberately manipulate past Tony?
Wasn't the Tesseract already in his hands?
In the original timeline, Loki successfully stole the Tesseract and used it to open a spatial portal.
After Loki's failure, shouldn't the Tesseract have been handed to S.H.I.E.L.D., along with the scepter?
The scepter did end up with S.H.I.E.L.D.—so why not the Tesseract?
And then there was the furious Hulk.
When angry, Hulk had little reason or restraint—anything could happen.
Tony considered it briefly and didn't dwell on it too much.
"The Tesseract was taken by Loki?"
"So, future me failed?"
Then Tony's eyes returned to the diary, and he was struck with surprise.
Loki had taken the Tesseract and escaped?
So this was the capture by TVA the diary mentioned?
Tony didn't care about Loki's capture.
What concerned him was how his future self's mission ended.
Did he recover the Tesseract before TVA caught Loki? Or was there some other solution?
Considering that TVA controlled time and superseded the multiverse, even Tony could not have full confidence in a race against them.
Luckily, Stark and Cap risked getting lost in the past by making a second jump through time!
These guys had guts—they only had the last Pym particles left.
If even a little of Stark's memory was wrong, the mission would fail, no matter if they got the stone.
But Stark proved himself reliable—they succeeded!
Not only did they succeed, but they gained an unexpected reward.
Cap saw the woman he had missed 70 years ago.
Tony saw his father and understood the depth of his love.
Indeed.
Loki was caught by TVA first. Tony understood immediately.
This outcome wasn't unexpected—it was TVA, after all.
Even Tony Stark could be outmatched by such an existence; it wasn't shameful.
And his future self had already found another solution: a second jump through time.
Yes, the simplest, most direct, and effective solution.
If future Tony mastered time travel, he could go to the Battle of New York or any other timeline with a Tesseract—no problem.
The Battle of New York timeline failed? Jump again.
Time travel was risky—one could get lost forever—but that's the danger of manipulating time!
"Pym particles."
Tony's attention immediately focused.
No doubt, Pym particles were the key for the future Avengers' time travel.
From the diary, they seemed like the "fuel" or "battery" for time travel.
Time travel required consuming them—nothing surprising there.
But "Pym" particles?
Wait… Hank Pym!
Tony recalled that when the diary mentioned Ant-Man, he had researched him.
S.H.I.E.L.D. once had an agent codenamed "Ant-Man"—Hank Pym!
So the Pym particles must be named after Hank Pym, their inventor.
Tony's deduction made sense.
Whether Pym particles were really related to Hank Pym, Tony couldn't confirm yet.
But did he really meet his father during the second time jump?
Tony never expected this.
The diary had mentioned his future self meeting his father.
Tony had been curious how this was possible—his father had been dead for years.
Now, he understood: time travel made it possible.
Where exactly did he and Cap go to meet his father and Peggy Carter?
Tony put together the clues and guessed:
World War II era!
Or more specifically, during the Strategic Scientific Reserve era, or early Avengers stage!
So Captain America stayed in the past after meeting Peggy Carter in this second jump to make up for his regrets?
Not quite. According to earlier deductions, Cap jumped back first, met Peggy, then stayed until the Battle of New York, coordinating with Tony's second jump.
So this time, Cap and Tony returned to the future together?
Of course—with the crucial Pym particles!
Otherwise, they'd be stuck in the past forever.
Pym particles—Tony couldn't have developed them himself.
These particles were heavily underestimated in the MCU; many Ant-Men had never unlocked their full potential.
Making oneself grow or shrink was just the basic use.
Pym particles could access the microscopic level—a terrifying power.
Look at Deadpool in Universe 12101: he shrunk a bomb into a coffee cup and nearly killed all the Avengers.
Even Thor's hammer could be amplified dozens of times with Pym particles, pinning him down.
Tony smirked—future Tony could figure it out if he wanted; it was just a matter of time.
Returning to the diary, Tony realized:
Ant-Man's true power was shrinking himself—down to ant size.
Fascinating.
Although shrinking alone didn't seem that impressive to Tony, if Ant-Man could shrink further, it would be another matter entirely.
(End of chapter)