The rainbow beam was incredibly fast as it flew straight toward Earth. Passing through the atmosphere, the intense friction ignited it into flames. Immediately afterward, it sped toward a city.
"Seriously, you don't have any money?" Inside Kamar-Taj, Strange and Wong walked down the steps.
Wong said, "Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual."
Strange put his hands in his pockets. "I'll tell the guys at the deli. Maybe they'll make you a metaphysical ham on rye."
Wong took some money from his pocket. "Oh. Wait, wait, wait. I think I have 200."
Strange asked, "Dollars?"
Wong awkwardly fiddled with the banknotes and said, "Rupees."
Strange replied speechlessly, "Which is?"
Wong said, "Uh, buck and a half."
"What do you want?"
"I wouldn't say no to a tuna melt."
Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, a tremendous crash suddenly erupted behind them, and a rainbow beam pierced Kamar-Taj like a sharp sword. The roof and stairways were instantly destroyed.
The two turned around and stared at the enormous crater blasted into the ground. The Cloak of Levitation automatically flew back behind Strange, and Wong summoned a defensive magic shield. The two approached the edge of the crater, and in the deep pit below, they saw Hulk rapidly transforming back into Banner.
Banner had just regained consciousness, so he said in panic, "Thanos is coming. He's coming."
Banner's pupils widened, and anyone could see the fear in his eyes. Strange and Wong exchanged glances.
Strange frowned and asked, "Who?"
The viewers were stunned.
"Heimdall is amazing. He sent Banner directly to Strange."
"Strange has an Infinity Stone, and I guess Heimdall noticed it."
"But Strange definitely can't beat Thanos."
"Not necessarily. What if he fights Thanos the same way he fought Dormammu? An infinite time loop."
"Against someone with two Infinity Stones? I don't think Strange's strategy will work."
"Still, it's good that this era knows Thanos is coming."
"Yeah, they can prepare in advance."
The screen flickered.
A park appeared while Tony and Pepper were talking on the grass. "Slow down, slow down. I'll spell it out for you."
Pepper replied, "You're totally rambling."
Tony denied it immediately. "No, I'm not."
"You lost me." Pepper shook her head.
Tony draped his jacket around his neck and said, "Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee."
Pepper answered helplessly. "Yeah."
"Okay." Tony gestured dramatically. "And then you're like, 'Oh, my God. There are no bathrooms. What am I gonna do? Oh, someone's watching.'"
"Right."
Tony nodded repeatedly. "Oh, I'm gonna go in my pants."
Pepper sighed. "And then you wake up, and in real life, you actually have to pee."
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
"Everybody has that."
Tony laughed. "Right, that's the point I'm trying to make. Apropos of that, last night I dreamt we had a kid."
Tony looked at Pepper sincerely. "It was so real. We named him after your eccentric uncle."
Tony closed his eyes in thought. Uh, what was his name? Morgan. Morgan."
"Right," Pepper said, "So you woke up..."
"Naturally." Tony immediately replied.
"...and thought that we were..." Pepper smiled.
"Expecting." Tony continued seriously.
"Yeah."
"Yes?"
"No."
"I had a dream about it. It was so real."
Pepper untied the clothes around Tony's neck. "If you wanted to have a kid... you wouldn't have done that."
As she spoke, she tapped Tony's chest. A triangular energy device was embedded there.
Tony curled his lips. "I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nanoparticles."
Pepper shrugged. "You're not helping your case, okay?"
Tony continued explaining. "No, this is detachable. It's not a..."
Pepper replied, "You don't need that."
Tony said,
"I know, I had the surgery. I'm just trying to protect us... and future usses, and that's it. Just in case there's a monster in the closet, instead of, you know..."
Pepper smiled. "Shirts."
Tony exclaimed, "You know me so well. You finish all my sentences."
"God." Pepper looked distracted and replied, "You should have shirts in your closet."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You know what there should be? No more surprises. We're gonna have a nice dinner tonight. Show off this Harry Winston. Right? And we should have no more surprises. Ever."
"I should promise you."
"Yes."
"I will."
"Thank you."
The two laughed together, and they embraced.
"Wow, Tony and Pepper are going to have a baby?"
"Forget the baby. I care more about Tony's nano-device."
"Tony already had surgery to remove the shrapnel from his heart."
"Tony still can't completely separate himself from the suit, didn't he say that before?"
"Tony's suit can't hurt Thanos, can it? They're not even on the same level."
"Definitely not. If Thanos uses that glove, he could probably kill Tony easily."
"Tony just wants to protect the people most important to him."
"I still remember when Tony carried that missile into space by himself."
"No one else has ever saved the world like Tony."
"Tony also wants to make it up to Pepper. He spent so much time protecting the world that he ignored her feelings."
While Tony and Pepper were kissing, a voice suddenly sounded behind them. "Tony Stark."
Tony immediately turned around.
On the grass, a circular portal filled with sparks opened, and Strange stepped out. "I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me."
Tony and Pepper stared at the magical sight in astonishment. They had never seen anything like it before.
Strange's serious expression suddenly relaxed, and he smiled. "Oh, uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way."
Tony looked at Strange. "I'm sorry, you're giving out tickets to something?"
Strange looked directly at Tony. "We need your help. It's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake."
Tony asked, "And who's 'we'?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Banner stepped through the portal. "Hey, Tony."
Tony and Pepper were even more shocked.
"Bruce."
"Pepper."
"Hi."
Banner looked as though he had suffered a great grievance. He walked over and gave Tony a huge hug. "Oh."
"Are you okay?" Tony looked confused.
After a brief exchange, Tony followed Strange and Banner back to Kamar-Taj. Tony sat on a sofa, and his attention was fixed on Wong's demonstration. "At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then... Boom."
Under Wong's magic, the aftermath of the universe's creation unfolded vividly in midair, and six differently colored stones rotated slowly.
"The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals... hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."
Strange added from the side:
"Space (Blue)."
"Reality (Red)."
"Power (Purple)."
"Soul (Orange)."
"Mind (Yellow)."
As he spoke, Strange lowered his head. With a gesture of both hands, he opened the Eye of Agamotto and a green gem glowed quietly within. "And Time (Green)."
The entire place fell silent.
The audience became quiet as everyone stared at the screen. The six magical Infinity Stones slowly revolved in space. For the first time, everyone had a clear and comprehensive understanding of the Infinity Stones, their origins, and their powers.
"Six Infinity Stones."
"They're beautiful."
"So Thanos currently has Power and Space?"
"No wonder he could open spatial tunnels and teleport people away."
"In our universe, do six Infinity Stones exist too?"
"According to this tale, the Big Bang created six Infinity Stones. That's quite different from our current understanding of cosmology."
"Exactly. We also have the Big Bang theory, but no Infinity Stones."
"Why do I feel like this universe isn't the same universe as the earlier one?"
"This topic is way too profound. Stop talking about it. None of us understand it."
"I just want to know what Tony's new device actually does. He had a nano-gauntlet before."
"That's right. I remember it. It was a watch that transformed into a hand suit when activated."
Inside the Administration, several physicists had already begun discussing the cosmic explosion they had just witnessed, and an in-depth debate quickly followed. Although it had been mentioned before, the explanation had never been this detailed.
Hawking wrote a lot of things in the notebook. "If the explosion of the universe produces these stones, then they are equivalent to the foundation of the universe... But they're just wandering around the universe at will, and eventually many of them gathered during the era of Earth... Really interesting."
Hawking had mentioned the idea of parallel universes before. He also read many comments and messages from netizens on the Internet, so some of his own theories were influenced. But at the same time, it aroused even greater interest.
"I'm not too interested in the creation of the universe," said Johan. "I'm just worried that when Thanos comes to Earth, he's going to cause a lot of damage. The real culprit behind the historical fault is probably Thanos and his forces."
Tonio and the others all nodded. This was almost a foregone conclusion. Once someone possessed all Infinity Stones, who could stop whatever Thanos wanted to do?
The Director narrowed his eyes and said, "The two Infinity Stones on Earth cannot be obtained by Thanos."
"Thanos' motive for collecting all six stones must be tainted!" Xiaotian said, "In the first era, if Strange and the others join forces with the Avengers, maybe there is still a glimmer of hope."
All eyes turned to the screen. No one knew how the people of Earth would resist such a terrifying opponent.
Tony stared fixedly at the multiple gems suspended in the air. Suddenly, he asked, "Tell me his name again."
Banner frowned and said, "Thanos."
Banner's Hulk state had been defeated by Thanos, so his impression of the Mad Titan was profound.
"He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population." Banner looked at Tony and said, "He sent Loki. The attack on New York, that's him."
Tony's eyes flickered. "This is it. What's our timeline?"
"No telling," Banner replied. "He has the Power and Space Stones. That already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe."
Banner's tone became hurried. "If he gets his hands on all six stones, Tony..."
Strange said lightly, "He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of."
Tony's thoughts were in turmoil.
Wong looked at Strange and said in amazement, "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'?"
Strange ignored him and looked at Tony. "Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?"
"Is that what it is?"
The cloak behind Strange suddenly smacked Tony, and he was startled. When he looked back, the cloak had already fallen still. After a pause, Tony said, "I'm going to allow that."
"If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?" Tony pointed to the Eye of Agamotto.
But Strange immediately replied, "No can do."
Wong stood with his hands behind his back. "We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives."
Tony frowned. "And I swore off dairy... but then Ben and Jerry's named a flavor after me."
Strange responded, "Stark Raving Hazelnuts."
Tony nodded. "Not bad."
Strange said, "A bit chalky."
Wong said thoughtfully, "A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge is our favorite."
Banner replied speechlessly, "That's a thing?"
Tony shook his head. "Whatever. Point is, things change."
Strange firmly answered, "Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. And this stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos."
Tony stared at him. "On the other hand, it's also an opportunity for him to deal with us."
Strange calmly replied, "Well, if we don't do our jobs."
Tony asked instead, "What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals."
Tony mocked Strange mercilessly, and the corners of Strange's mouth curled upward. "Protecting your reality, douchebag."
Although Strange spoke calmly, his words were filled with gunpowder.
"Uh, these two started firing at each other immediately."
"They're both extremely smart people."
"By the way, why can't the Time Stone be destroyed? I feel Tony has a point."
"Destroy it? How? It's an Infinity Stone."
"And don't forget, Dormammu was held off before in the first era! If the Time Stone disappears, what if Dormammu returns despite his promise?"
"I think Strange is right. The Time Stone may be the key to fighting Thanos."
"Tony and Strange are both people with extremely strong subjective judgment. It's too difficult for either of them to convince the other."
"Two pompous fellows!"
"They're both masters of language!"
"I don't think Tony is wrong. Destroy the Time Stone and the problem is solved."
"Didn't you listen to Banner? Thanos is already nearly invincible. He already possesses two Infinity Stones. Destroying the Time Stone won't solve everything!"
Banner hurriedly interrupted. "Okay, guys. Could we table this discussion right now? The fact is we have this stone. We know where it is."
Banner pointed outside. "Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone... and we have to find him now."
Tony leaned against the Cauldron of All Things, and his expression was somewhat ugly. "Yeah, that's the thing."
Banner asked, "What do you mean?"
Tony sighed. "Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."
Banner exclaimed in surprise. "What?"
"Yeah."
"Tony, you lost another super-bot?"
Tony shook his head. "I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."
Strange asked, "Who could find Vision then?"
Tony paced around the hall, and various emotions crossed his face. "Shit."
Frowning, Tony said, "Probably Steve Rogers."
Banner nodded. "Oh, great."
Tony added, "Maybe. But..."
With a deep sigh, Tony did not continue.
Banner urged, "Call him."
Tony turned back helplessly. "It's not that easy. God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?"
"No."
After a pause, Tony revealed the truth. "The Avengers broke up. We're toast."
Banner looked as though he couldn't believe it. "Like a band? Like... Like the Beatles?"
Tony nodded. "Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms."
It was one of the things Tony least wanted to remember, so he was filled with conflict and pain.
Banner looked at Tony. "Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."
Tony hesitated, then he let out a long sigh. "Flip phone."
He pulled a flip phone from his pocket, and there was only one phone number on it: Rogers. It had been mailed to him by Rogers before he left. Tony truly didn't want to make that call as he didn't even know what to say.
Suddenly, Tony looked up as there seemed to be strange fluctuations in the air throughout the entire temple, and a slight tremor echoed.
Tony turned around. Pointing at Strange's head, he asked, "Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would ya?"
Strange stood motionless, eyes raised. A strand of hair on his forehead trembled as though blown by the wind. "Not at the moment, no."
The four froze, and they looked at the shattered ceiling above as countless fragments were falling from overhead. Through the glass at the palace gate, they could see crowds running in panic. When Tony opened the door, the streets had become complete chaos. Vehicles jammed together. People fled in panic. The wind howled. Sand and debris flew everywhere.
At this moment, viewers across Terra watched the screen and stared intently. "Have they arrived on Earth?"