Chapter 50: A Tangled Future
'White-Suit Iron Man.' Of course Lynn knew what that meant.
In the AXIS event, Tony Stark inverted, becoming the Superior Iron Man, a complete villain. Sam Wilson, who had taken over as Captain America, became a tyrant.
And Loki... Loki turned into a doting little puppy, completely devoted to his brother.
It was, simply put, a classic storyline.
"This 'White-Suit' version you saw... what was he doing?"
At Lynn's question, Natasha shifted, crossing her legs. "I saw the end of superheroes. I saw him destroy a planet with a wave of his hand. He just... looked at another planet, and it exploded."
"What?"
Lynn froze. He shook his head.
'Destroying planets with a thought? That wasn't Superior Iron Man. That was something else entirely. So this wasn't the AXIS event.'
'What the hell kind of power was Tony going to get his hands on?'
After a few seconds, Lynn pressed on. "And... what did you mean about me standing with someone who's been dead for twenty years?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Natasha looked at him, then tapped the watch on her wrist.
A blue hologram flickered to life, showing the image of an old man.
"When I first saw this, I ran a search. Nothing in the database. I sketched his face, ran it again, and finally got a hit. Howard Stark."
"Howard Stark?"
Lynn was floored.
"That's right. Tony Stark's father. One of the founders of SHIELD, who supposedly died in 1991."
That final piece of information from Natasha just about broke Lynn's brain.
'A version of Tony Stark who could detonate planets with a glance, and he himself, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a guy who was supposed to be long dead?'
'Why the hell was the future such a goddamn mess?'
Seeing Lynn fall deep into thought, Natasha didn't rush him. She just leaned back, leisurely sipping her wine.
When Lynn finally surfaced, she just shrugged. "Well, now you know. As for the rest... I'm sure a powerful 'Death Sorcerer' like you can figure it out."
"Fuck it."
Lynn stood up and grabbed his trench coat. "It's the future. Who cares? Why worry about it now?"
Seeing him about to leave, Natasha stood up too. "I'm taking the Quinjet back to New York today. Need a ride?"
"Nope. Already got a ticket."
He pulled the airline ticket from his pocket and waved it at her.
"Alright. See you in New York."
Natasha nodded, left the hotel, and drove away.
***
At the airport, Lynn got through security and boarded the plane. As it took off, he stared out the window at the endless sea of clouds, his mind replaying Natasha's two visions.
'Howard and Maria... was it possible they never died?'
'If they were alive, where the hell were they hiding?'
'Why would they stay hidden for twenty years, not even showing themselves when Tony was dying in a desert?'
'And Tony... how did he get that strong?'
Lynn knew this wasn't the main MCU. He had George and Gwen Stacy as proof.
But aside from them, everything else had seemed to follow the same script.
He'd been coasting on that assumption, treating this all as a game.
But now... it was obvious the future was going off the rails. Did that mean he needed to change his own plans?
He put on an eye mask and leaned back. He thought for a long time... and then decided to just go to sleep.
'If I can't figure it out, why think about it?'
'You gotta just let shit go.'
***
Three days later. New York.
"Don't tell me, after all this time, you still haven't found the serial killer."
Lynn walked in, grinning at George Stacy's grim expression.
"This isn't about the killer, Lynn. It's about you."
George sighed and shook his head. "You had a full-blown tactical squad attack you, right in your apartment. The Commissioner himself stepped in, and he still couldn't get a straight answer on who they were. Do you have any idea what that means?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means that team either belongs to the highest, most classified level of our own government, or it belongs to an organization so powerful, we don't even have the clearance to ask about them."
"Either way, Lynn... you are in deep shit."
George looked him dead in the eye. "What happens when they send another team?"
"Relax. It's handled."
Seeing the genuine worry on his partner's face, Lynn just smiled. "Why else do you think I went to Europe?"
Seeing Lynn wasn't lying, George visibly relaxed.
He was about to say something else when Lynn's phone rang.
Lynn picked it up, and Tony Stark's voice crackled through the speaker, fast and strained. "Lynn! That potion, the... the calming one... do you have any more?"
"I'll buy it. Five hundred thousand dollars a bottle!"
Hearing the panic in Tony's voice, the way it trembled...
Lynn knew his anxiety was flaring up again.
"I've got it. I'm on my way."
Hearing that number, Lynn hung up and looked at George. "My leave isn't over yet, right? I gotta go."
"And tell the Commissioner to drop the investigation into my attack. I don't want him getting caught in the crossfire."
"Alright."
George nodded. He watched Lynn leave, then dialed a number.
When the call connected, George's voice was serious. "It's me. Did you find anything on what I asked you to look into?"
***
In Los Angeles, inside a City Hall office.
The Deputy Mayor heard George's voice and waved his staff out of the room.
Once he was alone, he spoke. "George, I hit a wall. The identity of that group is a ghost."
"I tried to dig deeper, and I got a warning. A serious one."
"George, we've been friends for decades. If you wanted to be Commissioner of the NYPD, me and the rest of the old fraternity, we could make that happen. You know that."
"But this... you need to let this go. This is out of our league."
Hearing his old friend's words, George sighed. "Alright. I... I'll figure something out."
The Deputy Mayor frowned. "You really think that much of this Lynn kid?"
"I do. If he wasn't such a goddamn player, I'd even want my daughter Gwen to date him. You understand?"
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