章 267: Chapter 268: Iron Man - Turns Out I Don't Need to Snap My Fingers!
Crack!
In the scene, Nebula slapped herself hard on the head.
For whatever reason, under this slap, the light that had been emanating from her eyes vanished instantly.
"Who was that?" Gamora asked beside her.
"I don't know. My head is splitting with pain. I don't know," Nebula covered her head, her voice conveying immense agony.
"Her synaptic drive might have been damaged during the fight," Gamora stood up and explained to Thanos.
"Take her to my ship," Thanos lifted Nebula's chin with his double-edged blade.
Thanos taking Nebula on his ship wasn't for her to rest because she seemed to be in pain, but rather to understand what had just transpired with the images she displayed.
She hung in the air like a fish as Thanos plugged a data cable into her head. Meanwhile, Ebony Maw manipulated a mechanical device that resembled a computer.
"Run diagnostics, show me her memory files," Thanos instructed Ebony Maw.
"Sir, the files seem to be in disarray," Ebony Maw operated the computer, saying, "There are segments of memory, but they don't belong to her. There's another consciousness sharing the network with her, another Nebula."
"Impossible," Thanos, with his vast cosmic experience, had never heard of something so bizarre.
"This doppelganger has a timestamp, it's from the future, nine years later," Ebony Maw reported.
"Another timeline!" Upon seeing this, Bruce Banner exclaimed, "This Thanos is from 2014, and nine years later, which is 2023, we will engage in time travel to go back in time to find the Infinity Stones."
"It's hard to imagine that I'll be time traveling in a little over a decade," Scott Lang remarked.
"I have a question, what's a timestamp?" Thor asked.
"In simple terms, a timestamp is a piece of data that represents the existence of certain data at a specific point in time in a verifiable way," Tony Stark explained, "It can prove when certain data was generated."
"If you're familiar with blockchain, it would help you understand timestamps better," Bruce Banner added.
"What's blockchain then?" Thor inquired, "Some sort of squared necklace?"
"Never mind," Bruce Banner shrugged.
"Where is the other Nebula?" Thanos asked in the video.
"On Morag in our solar system," Ebony Maw replied.
"Can you access her?" Thanos inquired further.
"Yes," Ebony Maw responded confidently, "They are interconnected."
"Retrieve the memories of this doppelganger," Thanos commanded, "Find the Infinity Stone."
Ebony Maw operated the controls, and suddenly, beams of light emitted from Nebula's eyes again, projecting images.
"These stones have appeared in many places in history, in our history. Therefore, we have limited options for where to go."
"So we have to choose our targets carefully."
"That's right."
Nebula's eyes instantly projected the scene of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and others discussing where to find the Infinity Stones.
"Freeze," Thanos ordered.
The images in Nebula's eyes froze instantly.
"Earthlings," Gamora looked at Tony Stark and the others, commenting.
"Avengers, a bunch of annoying pests," Thanos knew about the Avengers, and Loki was defeated by them.
"What's that reflection? Zoom in on it, Ebony Maw." Thanos noticed something of interest in the image. After zooming in, it was Nebula!
"Two Nebulas," Gamora said in astonishment.
"No, it's one Nebula from different times," Thanos instructed, "Set the course for Morag and scan the doppelganger's memories. I want to see everything."
While Thanos ordered the course to Morag, James Rhodes and the Nebula from the future were already on Morag.
Not only these two, but Peter Quill has also arrived, the 2014 version of Peter Quill. He's wearing headphones, listening to a cassette player, humming and dancing along to the music, looking quite cheerful.
He might have thought that he was humming the music perfectly and dancing gracefully, but what others could hear was his off-key singing and dance moves that resembled a gorilla's, making him look like a complete goof.
"So, he's an idiot?" James Rhodes, who had been observing from the sidelines for a while, couldn't help but ask.
"Yes," Nebula gave a very affirmative response.
James Rhodes suited up in his armor and didn't hold back as he delivered a punch to Peter Quill, knocking him unconscious.
Whack!
Peter Quill fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Nebula stole a lock-picking tool from Peter Quill and used it to open a heavy-looking iron door, revealing a metallic sphere inside.
Everyone in the answer space was familiar with this metallic sphere; it contained the Power Stone. Peter Quill, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and even Gamora had been involved in the chase for this thing, forming the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The metallic sphere was suspended within a cylindrical column of light. Nebula fearlessly extended her hand into the column of light.
Her hand and even half of her forearm were burned to a bright red by the light. Her skin and flesh were charred instantly, leaving only a pitch-black steel structure.
This was no longer a human flesh and blood body; it was undoubtedly a robotic steel body.
"I wasn't like this from the beginning." Nebula said as James Rhodes stared at his own hand in a daze, a sense of helplessness in her tone.
"Same here." James Rhodes said, "But we can only do our best, can't we?"
Nebula nodded.
"Synchronize." James Rhodes and Nebula pressed their backs together, immediately donning the white "temporal traversal suits."
"Three, two, one!" After James Rhodes finished the countdown, he pressed on the back of Nebula's hand, and with a swish, they both disappeared.
However, Nebula encountered an unexpected situation. Her fingers had already reached the back of her hand, and she was about to press down, just like James Rhodes had disappeared. But it seemed that an invisible force imprisoned her body. She was unable to move!
Within a hair's breadth, she couldn't press down!
Then sparks started to emerge from her head, her eyes began to emit light, and she collapsed in pain.
Accompanying her agony was another version of herself, the 2014 Nebula.
"Ah!" The 2014 Nebula, who was hanging in the air like a piece of bacon, let out a long, mournful scream.
"You've wiped out billions of lives!"
"You should be grateful."
"Where's the Stone?"
"Gone, turned into atoms."
"You used it just two days ago."
"I used the Stone to destroy the Stone. It almost cost me my life, but the grand plan is done. It's destined to be completed. I am destiny."
In Nebula's eyes, the video played Thor and the others heading to confront the retired Thanos.
"What have you done to them?" Gamora couldn't help but ask. The people in the video seemed to hold a strong grudge against Thanos, but she had never seen them before.
"Nothing yet," Thanos knew exactly what was happening in the video, "They're not trying to prevent what I did in our time; they're trying to undo what I've already done in their world."
"The Stones, I've found them all," Thanos paced as he spoke, "I've won, restoring balance to the universe."
"This is your future," Ebony Maw said.
"This is my destiny," Thanos declared.
With a single command from Ebony Maw, the "Nebula" brand home theater system resumed playing the video.
"My father has many qualities, but he never lies." Nebula's voice rang out.
"Thank you, my daughter." Thanos looked at Nebula with a face that appeared to have been scorched by fire, "Perhaps I was too harsh on you in the past."
In the next moment, the turn of events in this video shocked everyone present. Thanos's head flew off!
Thanos, decapitated!
"So, destiny has been fulfilled." Looking at his own decapitated fate, Thanos remained quite composed.
"Sir, your daughter..." Ebony Maw extended his hand, and a section of iron chain snaked forward, wrapping around Nebula's neck and tightening steadily, "is a traitor."
"That's not me. I would never betray you," Nebula begged, "Never."
"I know," Thanos pulled the iron chain off Nebula's neck, "You have a chance to prove yourself."
The video of the 2014 Nebula concluded, and the future Nebula returned to normal.
"No, he knows!" Nebula grew anxious and quickly ran back to her ship. She grabbed a communication device and tried to contact others. "Barton, respond! Romanoff! Respond! We're in trouble! Respond! Thanos knows! Thanos..."
As she spoke, Nebula suddenly felt something was off. She looked up and saw a massive spaceship hovering in the air, casting a shadow over everything.
In the next moment, a beam of light shot down from the large spaceship, engulfing Nebula's small ship.
The space darkened, and the video ended.
"Nebula was captured by Thanos!" Peter Quill found it incredibly thrilling, "Unlike the 2014 Nebula, she was completely aligned with the Avengers back then, standing squarely against Thanos. If she fell into Thanos's hands, could she still be alive?"
"Didn't Nebula appear at Tony's funeral?" Phil Coulson asked, "Even though Nebula was in Thanos's grasp, she didn't die."
"That's not certain," Peter Quill said, "How do you know that the Nebula at Tony's funeral wasn't the future of the 2014 Nebula, the one who time-traveled to the past?"
"That makes sense," Phil Coulson was taken aback, "Indeed, we can't be sure which timeline the Nebula at the funeral belongs to."
"Thanos is not your typical villain. He doesn't indiscriminately kill. Describing someone who has murdered tens of billions of people as a mere executioner sounds ridiculous. When Thanos was collecting the Stones, he spared many lives," Bruce Banner said, "When he took the Space Stone, he spared Thor. When he took the Time Stone, he didn't kill Tony, Stephen, and others. He just left after getting the Stone. It seems he only kills those who are absolutely necessary to kill. So, I think even if Nebula ends up in his hands, he might not kill her."
"I share Bruce's view. Thanos is fundamentally different from the traditional villains," Stephen Strange followed up on Bruce Banner's statement, "Nebula is different from us. She's his daughter, so he undoubtedly has different feelings for her. When he had to sacrifice Gamora to get the Soul Stone, he shed tears. If it's not absolutely necessary to kill her, I believe he would spare Nebula."
"But then our plan to go back in time and get the Infinity Stones might be completely exposed," Scott Lang said.
"If we didn't know the outcome, I'd be worried, but we already know that Thanos was dusted," Thor said nonchalantly. "What does it matter how much he knows?"
"It's because Thanos learned from Nebula that we were going back in time to get the Stones that he came after us, leading to our final battle with him in the past, Tony snapping his fingers," Natasha Romanoff said, "If Thanos didn't know this, he wouldn't have come after us. Then we could have succeeded in returning to the future, resurrected everyone, and Tony wouldn't have had to die."
"If Tony didn't snap his fingers, then Thanos wouldn't die either," James Rhodes said.
"What difference does it make whether that Thanos lives or dies? That's the past Thanos! The 2014 Thanos!" Steve Rogers said, "In 2013, 2012, 2011, there are countless past Thanos from different timelines. Each timeline has one. What influence do they have on us? They're just part of the past!"
"So, when we go back in time to get the Infinity Stones again, we shouldn't let Nebula go, so the two Nebulas won't share memories, and our plan won't be known to Thanos. Then Tony wouldn't have to snap his fingers," Peter Quill suggested.
"But we won't need to go back in time to get the Stones anymore. Quill, are you still stuck in that video and can't move on?" Tony Stark said, "We've already found five Stones. We just need the Power Stone, and the events in the video would never have happened."
[Question 6 begins. Please watch the following video.]
The screen first displayed a pair of Loki and female Loki. They were escorted by Judge Renslayer into a spacious and bright room.
In this room, three oddly shaped aliens wearing helmets sat in a "品" shape in midair. Their elevated status was evident.
"Kind Time Keepers, as promised, I have brought the Variants," Judge Renslayer halted and respectfully spoke.
"No matter how you struggle, you've ended up in front of us," Time Keeper A spoke from a commanding position. Maybe due to their impressive status, their voices seemed to carry a buzzing effect, as if they were on special effects.
"Do you Variants have any last words before you die?" Time Keeper B spoke, their voice also buzzing.
"You and your empty threats can't affect us, Time Variants," Time Keeper C spoke.
*Vote Stones Plz*
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[END OF CHAPTER]
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