章 10: Ch.10 Time Travel? Easy for Me
Ronan wasn't sure if he'd been talked into it.
But on the other side, things weren't looking too good for Tony Stark and his team.
They had successfully "lost" the Space Stone, and the atmosphere was heavy with frustration.
Steve Rogers and Tony Stark exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next.
And then there was Scott Lang, whose presence wasn't exactly commanding.
"Is there any other way to get the Tesseract?"
"Meaning, the Space Stone?"
Steve Rogers looked at Tony, who was sitting in an abandoned vehicle, and asked again.
"No, there's no other way."
"We don't get another chance!"
Scott Lang seemed irritated because they had just failed.
He slammed the back seat door shut and did his classic exasperated gesture.
┓(`)┏
"We each have just one vial of Pym particles. If you use it, that's it. You're not going home."
Scott Lang laid out the harsh reality.
Yep, they only had one vial of particles left, enough for one more trip.
But his words sparked a new idea in Tony Stark.
"No, there's another way."
"We can still get the Tesseract, and we can get more particles too."
Tony stepped out of the car, his excitement growing.
"We can take a longer walk down memory lane—New Jersey's military base."
"You know the place."
He pointed at Steve Rogers.
The Captain wasn't unfamiliar with the base. In fact, he was very familiar with it.
That's where it all began—where the scrawny white guy transformed into the legendary Captain America.
"Both things are there?"
"The Stone and the particles?"
Steve took a deep breath and confirmed again.
"I'm sure. I remember that place. Both items are there."
"And you know why I know."
Tony stared at Steve.
As the two shared an intense, unspoken moment, a portal—one they were all very familiar with—quietly appeared beside them.
All three turned their attention to the portal.
Steve raised his shield, Tony's hand moved to his chest, and Scott donned his helmet.
But what they didn't expect was for Bruce Banner to step out of the portal.
Oh, and the young man behind him, wearing an Iron Man helmet.
"You're the guy from before…"
Scott Lang immediately recognized Ronan.
"Uh…"
"Let me introduce him properly."
"He's the Sorcerer Supreme of this world… well, the next Sorcerer Supreme, Ronan."
Bruce Banner quickly corrected himself after receiving a swift kick from Ronan.
The current Sorcerer Supreme had just given Ronan a rather tricky mission, but Ronan had no intentions of taking over the mantle anytime soon.
After all…
He couldn't beat the Ancient One!
Next Sorcerer Supreme?
The others were clearly surprised by this title.
"You're… Strange?"
Tony blurted out, wondering if they were meeting a younger version of Doctor Strange.
"No, you're called Ronan, right?"
Tony quickly remembered how Bruce had addressed him earlier.
Ronan shrugged and said softly, "Friday, remove the mask."
"Yes, sir."
The familiar female voice made Tony's face go dark.
As the low-budget sound effect played, the helmet retracted, revealing Ronan's face.
And that mention of "Friday" made the others glance at Tony.
Everyone knew that Friday was Tony's second AI after JARVIS became part of Vision.
"Don't look at me. I have no idea!"
Tony was not only mentally exhausted, but his face started to darken as well.
He remembered what Ronan had said back at Stark Tower.
He never imagined Ronan would adapt so quickly.
"My name is Ronan, the next Sorcerer Supreme of this world."
"I'm here to escort this and ensure it returns safely."
As he spoke, Ronan expressionlessly formed a sign.
The Eye of Agamotto on his chest slowly opened, revealing the Time Stone inside.
Hmph!
This handsome guy isn't happy, so you're not getting any pleasant expressions from me either.
Seeing the Time Stone, the group visibly relaxed a little, though their attention quickly shifted back to Bruce Banner.
They didn't pay much mind to Ronan's sour mood.
Bruce just shrugged with a "that's how it is" expression.
"Alright, alright."
"Let's not get hung up on the details. Since we have the Time Stone, we still need to solve the earlier problem."
Tony took a deep breath.
The most important thing right now was to get the Space Stone and more particles.
If they couldn't get the Space Stone, it didn't matter who Ronan was.
"Cap, do you trust me?"
Tony looked at Steve Rogers, and the two continued their earlier intense staring contest.
Steve took a deep breath and then nodded firmly.
Snap.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Ronan was holding his phone, staring at them with a blank expression.
"What? Keep talking. Don't mind me."
He put the phone back in his pocket, smirking slightly.
At least he had gotten something out of this.
Next time Tony builds some "anti-sorcerer armor," he'd use this picture as blackmail.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, these two were practically about to kiss.
At this point, Steve didn't have time to care about Ronan's odd comments.
He tossed the scepter to Scott Lang.
"Scott, you and Bruce head back first."
"When we get the particles, we'll bring them to you."
Without waiting for a response, the two pressed their wristwatches and vanished instantly.
They were off to New Jersey in 1970.
Scott Lang held the scepter, looking dumbfounded.
Were those two really not afraid they wouldn't make it back?
"So, you don't need those white suits for time travel?"
Ronan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Scott's face darkened—he had forgotten about that little detail.
Those suits were designed specifically to withstand the tear of time travel. Without them, the human body couldn't survive the journey.
"So… will you give us the stone?"
Bruce took a deep breath.
Ronan gave him a look that said, Are you serious?
Even though Ronan didn't want to go, he wasn't about to disobey the Ancient One's orders.
Who knew if, upon returning, he'd be forced to duel every mage in Kamar-Taj a thousand times?
"Alright, wait here for them. Once they get back, you can go…"
"Oh, crap, I hope they bring back enough particles."
Bruce smacked his forehead, his face filled with anxiety.
No one had expected things to unfold like this.
This wasn't part of their plan at all.
"It's fine. You guys head back. I'll wait for them."
"There are things you need that, as the next Sorcerer Supreme, I don't."
Ronan shrugged. He wasn't happy, but he had a role to play.
Seeing Ronan's attitude, the two men exchanged glances but had no other options.
They didn't entirely trust Ronan's words, though.
Their only hope was that Tony and Steve would be mindful of this.
Otherwise, it would waste an entire vial of Pym particles.
With that thought, they both pressed their wristwatches and disappeared just like the others.
Time travel—looked easy enough.
Whoosh!
The thought had barely ended when Tony Stark's figure reappeared.
His face had a hint of a smile, and he seemed more composed.
If the Tony from before had the apprehensions of a new father, this version had finally evolved into his final form.
Was it the "Dad Buff" at work?
"Wow, old-man Iron Man. You're faster than your younger self."
"Should I call it a rite of passage for men?"
Ronan smirked, implying more than he said.
Tony's face darkened, and the smile from before faded instantly.
With a huff, he tossed a box to Ronan.
"Put on this suit. We're about to start time traveling."
"Don't be surprised, everything is real," Tony Stark said with a smirk, clearly still wanting to show off something to Ronan.
Time travel is a pretty high-end concept for most people. After all, who hasn't dreamed of going back decades to change their fate? But when Ronan glanced at the box in his arms, he just shook his head.
"Time travel is simple for me, I don't really need all these gadgets," Ronan said calmly.
"I just need…"
Ronan glanced at his system interface.
[Interdimensional Portal +2]:
[+1 Trait: No need for Sling Rings or hand gestures, allowing for free use of the portal for travel.]
[+2 Trait: Can traverse parallel universes and timelines, but requires manual time confirmation. Each use comes with a six-month cooldown.]
"Like this," Ronan said as he traced a few arcs in the air with his hand. A golden portal once again appeared before the two of them.
On the other side of the portal, familiar faces from Tony Stark's past turned to look their way, eyes wide with surprise.
Ronan turned his head to Tony. "This is the place, right? This is the time?"
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