Tech Tower.
It didn’t take long for the genius of Tony Stark to locate the time machine using Kang’s computer.
“It’s beneath this City of Time,” Tony announced.
With a wave of his hand, a screen projected an image of what appeared to be a radiant energy core, shining like a miniature sun.
“Deep underground lies a formidable power source. I’m guessing that’s the heart of the time machine.”
Tony frowned.
“Kang truly was a genius. He managed to repair such a delicate machine, but the core is encased in this energy field. To repair it, we need to retrieve the core, shrink it down to a size compatible with the machine, and do so without damaging the energy field.
“Right now, that’s a near-impossible task.”
Xia Luo smirked.
“Classic Tony Stark, diagnosing the problem in no time at all.”
In the movie, Janet van Dyne stumbled into the Quantum Realm and encountered Kang, who had been exiled there. The two worked together to repair his time machine.
But when the machine activated, Janet glimpsed Kang’s true nature—a destroyer of countless multiverses. There was no way she could allow him to escape the Quantum Realm.
She used Pym Discs to enlarge the machine’s core to an unmanageable size, rendering it inoperable and trapping Kang in the Quantum Realm.
Now, with the rest of the machine repaired, the challenge lay in shrinking the energy core back to its original size to make the machine functional again.
Xia Luo turned to Scott Lang, who was limping slightly.
“To get through the energy field and reach the core, we need you, Ant-Man.”
Scott grimaced.
“I’m injured, and you’re handing me this task? Seriously?”
Xia Luo shrugged.
“Just calculate how many Pym Discs it’ll take to shrink the core to the right size. Leave the rest to me.”
“Do you need the suit too?” Scott gestured to his damaged Ant-Man suit.
“Free shrinking and growing isn’t possible without it, but the suit’s in pieces.”
“Can you sew?” Xia Luo asked bluntly.
Scott glared.
“It’s a technological masterpiece. Show some respect for Dr. Pym’s life’s work.”
Tony stepped forward.
“When I was studying time-travel tech, I looked into the Ant-Man suit. It’s not that advanced. Give me half an hour, and I’ll fix it.”
Scott: “…”
“That old man told me this was his life’s work. He lied to me.” Grumbling, Scott handed over the suit.
Tony shrugged.
“Discovering Pym Particles is about luck, not skill. Otherwise, Kang wouldn’t have been tripped up by it.”
“No, Kang’s failure wasn’t about technology. It was his arrogance,” Old Steve interjected seriously.
“He said he’d slaughtered countless Avengers, so Pym Particles clearly weren’t a significant obstacle for him.
“His victories weren’t about his technology—they were due to his abilities. When he lost those, he became a toothless dog reliant on scraps of tech.”
Steve tilted his head slightly.
“If it were me, I’d arm myself with Pym Particles. Even without powers, I wouldn’t be defenseless against stronger foes.”
Wade approached quietly, patting Steve’s backside.
“Captain Old-Timer, superpowers are easier to lose than tech. Unless you turn that tech into knowledge.”
Tony, now at his computer, added,
“Except for the time machine, Kang’s tech was all stolen from other universes. He doesn’t rely on it—it’s his time-manipulating abilities that make him unstoppable.”
With a smirk, Tony stepped onto a platform, where mechanical arms deployed nanometal to assemble a suit resembling Kang’s armor.
Lifting a hand, he manipulated nearby equipment with invisible gravity.
“Yes, just like that.”
Tony smiled.
“Now I can fight Kang on equal footing. Easy.” He spread his arms confidently.
Xia Luo raised an eyebrow at the sight.
“Mr. Stark, you ever think about guest-starring as Doctor Doom?”
“What?”
Tony blinked.
“I don’t get the joke, which means it’s not funny.”
Dismissing Xia Luo’s comment, Tony descended from the platform and began analyzing the suit’s technology through his computer.
His plan was simple: master the advanced tech of the City of Time. Next time he faced someone like Thanos, he’d win easily—assuming he could revive in the first place.
Xia Luo watched him, realizing Tony’s ambitions.
And Thanos could see it too.
For the sake of universal balance, Thanos had slaughtered countless species, earning himself more enemies than he could count—including this version of Iron Man.
If Thanos wanted a quiet life, his only option was to remain in the Quantum Realm.
Catching Thanos’s gaze, Xia Luo knew the titan had made up his mind. He didn’t interfere—there was enough chaos in the main universe without meddling in the Avengers’ drama.
Turning to the group, Xia Luo spoke.
“Once the time machine is repaired, your souls might not survive long in the real world. I have a mission for you.”
The reminder jolted everyone.
Old Steve seemed unbothered, his face calm.
“I’ve died plenty of times. Nothing new here.”
Even if his soul returned to his body, the revival reward only extended his life by a month. It wouldn’t change his ultimate fate.
Venom Parker, similarly, appeared indifferent. His story had already ended, and his life was in ruins.
Living or dying—it made no difference to him.
Scott, however, was visibly nervous.
“Mr. Xia Luo, my survival depends entirely on you,” he said, his voice trembling.
Xia Luo nodded.
“No problem. If there’s a chance, I’ll help.”
“No!” Scott shook his head vehemently.
“There’s no chance. Absolutely none.”
From Old Steve, Scott had learned the grim truth of the Resurrection Games: meeting Spider-Man meant death.
Even entering the Resurrection Games wasn’t guaranteed, let alone winning.
Not everyone could be a Spider-Man, who never lost.
Under Xia Luo’s direction, Scott and the others left the City of Time to gather what Xia Luo needed. Meanwhile, Xia Luo focused on repairing the time machine.
An hour later, wearing the newly repaired Ant-Man suit, Xia Luo stood before the radiant golden sun at the machine’s core.
Pressing the activation button, he shrank rapidly and dove into the blazing energy.
“Buzz~”
As he grew smaller, the elements composing the energy field flew past him in a dazzling array. Using space webs, he deftly avoided collisions with obstacles.
Finally, he pierced a spatial membrane.
In the pitch-black void beyond, even the core’s golden light failed to illuminate the space.
Looking up at the miniature sun, Xia Luo’s thoughts began to stir. Suddenly, his body split, and a second Xia Luo materialized beside him.
“What were you just thinking about?” Left Xia Luo asked.
Right Xia Luo shrugged.
“You know. I want to go back to New York.”
More Xia Luos split off.
“Why New York? Who’s in New York?”
“Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and my favorite actress. I’ve been following her forever but didn’t dare approach her. What if she feels insecure around a superhero as awesome as me?”
“Wait, you actually answered that?”
“Ugh, more bugs.”
“Did you just call yourself a bug?”
“Why not? Everyone else does.”
As Xia Luo’s thoughts grew more chaotic, the variants multiplied, crowding the dark space.
Within seconds, the void was teeming with Xia Luos.
The original Xia Luo sighed, massaging his forehead.
“Time machines mess with your head. No wonder Kang went crazy.”
For a brief moment, he empathized with Kang. Time’s lack of meaning rendered everything meaningless. Nothing mattered because everything was always accessible.
Another fleeting thought spawned thousands more variants.
“Enough nonsense. Let’s get started!”
Xia Luo launched a space web, aiming for the core, but several variants intercepted him.
“Wait! This looks fun. Let’s play with it first.”
“Play? We’ve got a Resurrection Game to win!”
“Come on, there’s no time here. Playing won’t hurt.”
“Move it!”
“Ha! You can’t hit me!”
“They’ve started fighting. Should we join?”
“Which side do we pick?”
“Duh, my side!”
“Yeah, obviously, my side.”
“No, I’m helping me.”
“Right! I’m helping me!”
“Argh! I’m losing my mind!”
—
In the Tech Tower, Infinite Tony was immersed in studying Kang’s 31st-century technology, his focus unwavering.
Meanwhile, Thanos wandered to the outdoor platform, gazing out at the city below with a distant expression.
“It’s been a week. The bug hasn’t come out yet. Did he fail?” he muttered, frowning.
“There’s no concept of time here. What feels long to us might’ve only just begun for Xia Luo,” Gwen replied, leaning against the railing for some fresh air.
Thanos glanced at Gwen and gave a slight nod.
“Are you the bug’s girlfriend?”
“What? No way,” Gwen scoffed, feigning disdain.
Thanos chuckled lightly, his lips curving into a rare smile.
“Young love. It’s beautiful,” he remarked with a hint of nostalgia.
Intrigued, Gwen turned toward him.
“They said you were once the ruler of the universe. That you’ve killed many Avengers.”
“I did. Not just Avengers, but countless species across the universe. I’ve lost track of how many.”
Thanos’s voice softened, a shadow of regret clouding his face.
“My intention was to save half the population, but in hindsight, it was meaningless. The universe is too vast, and the multiverse even more so. Do you understand what I’m saying?” He glanced at Gwen.
She nodded.
“I think so. I’ve been working on a thesis lately. Maybe you can tell me about some of the incredible things in the universe?”
“A thesis?” Thanos raised a brow, surprised.
“For my graduation,” Gwen explained.
“You and the bug are classmates? Does that mean he’s writing a thesis too?”
“That guy hasn’t been to class in ages,” Gwen replied, rolling her eyes.
“So he’s a slacker. Figures.” Thanos chuckled.
“Figures what?” Gwen asked, curious.
Thanos gazed at the stars above.
“No wonder he’s so violent. It seems fighting is all he’s good at.”
“Like you’re any better, you purple brute.”
Just then, an exhausted Xia Luo swung down, landing heavily behind Thanos.
Gwen turned to him, her eyes widening at his haggard state.
“What happened to you?”
“Nothing much. Just fought myself,” Xia Luo replied, collapsing onto a floating couch and gasping for breath.
“Wait, yourself?” Gwen frowned.
“Yeah, not just one of me—a bunch of me. I never realized I was this amazing. One of me even used The Art of War against me,” Xia Luo muttered, tossing a golden orb—the shrunken core of the time machine—into the air.
Fortunately, the variants had shared the same goal: to toy with him without truly obstructing his repair work. Otherwise, the battle could’ve lasted a thousand years without resolution.
He tapped the controls on his floating couch, drifting toward Infinite Tony.
“We’ll need precise coordinates to escape the Quantum Realm. Otherwise, who knows where we’ll end up. I’m a slacker, so you’re handling this,” Xia Luo said, tossing the golden orb to Tony.
Catching it effortlessly, Tony smirked.
“No problem, slacker.”
Xia Luo: “…”
Tony doesn’t hold back, huh.
—
After delegating the task to Tony, Xia Luo turned to Gwen, eager for updates on the main world.
“Ever since Dr. Otto lost control, he’s been hailed as the ‘Mutant God.’ The Brotherhood of Mutants has been leveraging his influence to recruit more mutants. Their power has grown so much that they’re now a match for the authorities,” Gwen explained.
Xia Luo’s expression turned contemplative.
“The surge in mutants might be linked to Apocalypse’s awakening.
“If we defeat Apocalypse, the mutant crisis could be resolved.”
Gwen hesitated, biting her lip as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“What is it?” Xia Luo asked.
She lowered her gaze.
“In a sense… aren’t we mutants too?”
Xia Luo’s brow furrowed.
“Get to the point.”
Gwen raised her head, her voice steady.
“If mutants are eradicated, wouldn’t we also be targets for humanity?”
The question gave Xia Luo pause, but only for a moment.
“You’re already referring to ordinary people as ‘humanity.’ That’s a dangerous mindset,” he said, standing and locking eyes with Gwen.
“Listen. Mutants are human. We’re human. Your father, George, is human too.”
Gwen took a deep breath.
“But the conflict between mutants and regular people seems irreconcilable. Mutants are treated like monsters.
“One day, so-called superheroes like us might be seen the same way. We have to face reality.”
“That’s not reality,” Xia Luo countered firmly.
“It’s a narrative spun by opportunists to create division and war.”
—
T/N: preach
Reader discussion
0 Comments
Be the first reader to share a thought about this chapter.