Caesar sensed the urgency of the future Hulk and decided not to question him further. With precise control over his internal organs, he quickly pulled an orange glowing gem out of his stomach and spit it out into his hand like a fruit pit, still covered in some stomach acid and saliva.
"Ugh." The future Hulk grimaced but took the Mind Stone without hesitation.
With two Infinity Stones in hand, the future Hulk sighed in relief and carefully cradled the stones in his large hands. He grinned at Caesar and said, "Caesar, it's a good thing we found you here. Otherwise, our people would have had to search the battlefield in New York."
"You're not the only one who traveled to this timeline, are you?" Caesar asked.
"That is correct. Captain, Tony and another hero came as well. Their primary targets were the Mind Stone and the Space Stone," the future Hulk replied frankly.
"The Space Stone?"
Caesar suddenly froze, floating in the air, lost in thought.
"Yes, the Space Stone is inside the Tesseract, right? Once the battle in New York is over, Captain and the others can infiltrate SHIELD headquarters and take it!" The future Hulk spoke as if this was the most obvious plan, as he had obviously gone to great lengths to gather detailed information on how to retrieve the stones from the past.
Unfortunately, they had overlooked one crucial detail.
"You are wrong, very wrong!" The Ancient One shook her head, as if aware of something important.
"What's wrong? What's the problem?" The future Hulk asked, feeling puzzled.
"It's simple."
Caesar's young face became incredibly serious as he spoke. "Banner, listen carefully. If you've come to this point in time because of the Space Stone, you've made a terrible mistake!"
"The reason is simple - the Space Stone is not in the Tesseract!"
Caesar was at a loss for words. It was such a bizarre turn of events. During World War II, his original self had removed the Space Stone from the Tesseract to thwart Thanos in the future. Ironically, it was his own allies who fell for the trap!
"What?" The future Hulk's eyes widened in disbelief. "Caesar, are you serious? The Space Stone isn't in the Tesseract?"
"Without a doubt, yes," Caesar confirmed, his expression grave. "During the Second World War, my creator, Kyle, secretly removed the Space Stone from the Tesseract. The Tesseract has been an empty shell of residual energy ever since. After Kyle used it to open a portal, the Space Stone mysteriously disappeared.
"So we came here for nothing? We can't get the Space Stone?" The future Hulk's green face turned ashen.
One wrong move and the whole game was lost.
Missing one Infinity Stone meant their entire mission was doomed, regardless of the other five.
Cold sweat began to form on the future Hulk's forehead, his powerful body shaking slightly from the tension.
"This is what we're going to do," Caesar said after a moment of thought. "Banner, you take the two stones you have and return to your original timeline. I'll find the future Captain and Tony who arrived at this time and inform them of the situation."
"Alright."
The future Hulk nodded in agreement. Holding the Time and Mind Stones, he activated the electronic watch on his left wrist. The watch expanded and transformed into a white, tight-fitting suit with an astronaut-like helmet that encased his large, muscular body.
The future Hulk waved goodbye and pressed a button, causing his body to rapidly shrink and blink out of existence, disappearing from the rooftop.
"All is now up to you, Caesar."
Even after his departure, his voice lingered in the air.
Floating in silence, Caesar was deep in thought when the Ancient's voice came from behind him, "What do you plan to do next?"
"What else can I do? Whether it's this timeline or the future, someone has to clean up their mess," Caesar sighed, sounding more mature and reliable than his five-year-old appearance would suggest.
"Then go," the Ancient said, her back to him as she stood at the railing, looking out over the city of New York. "The war is finally over."
"Yes, but a new war will soon begin," Caesar replied. After bidding farewell to the Ancient One, he flew out of the New York Sanctum. Thanks to the future Hulk's delay, the battle outside had already come to an end.
This was expected, and in keeping with Caesar's earlier predictions. Even without the presence of his original self, Kyle, Iron Man Tony, or his Superman avatar, the battle for New York was still being waged by Thor, Hulk, and Venom, along with support from the military and SHIELD.
In addition, the Carl family's hidden influence in the dark corners of the city ensured that Loki and his alien army were outmatched.
But as the epicenter of the conflict, the city of New York had paid an unimaginable price.
By mid-afternoon, Caesar was flying slowly, several hundred feet above the ground. As he looked up, he saw that the portal in the sky had dissipated, leaving behind streaks of blood-red sunset and lingering dark clouds.
He looked down at the city below him.
Once a bustling, vibrant economic center, the city now lay in ruins. Bodies of alien robots and soldiers littered the streets, along with the wreckage of tanks, helicopters, jets, shuttles, and alien warships.
The remains of these vehicles mingled with the collapsed and damaged buildings, creating a post-apocalyptic scene. Fires still smoldered in some areas, sending acrid plumes of smoke into the blood-colored sky.
Caesar spotted a familiar figure and lowered his altitude.
Colonel Rhodey, still wearing his damaged War Machine armor, stood tall amidst the rubble, his helmet tucked under one arm.
His dark face looked tired and battered as he directed the military personnel who had arrived to assist, focusing on rescuing and tending to the wounded and ensuring there were no hidden alien threats.
"Rhodey!" Caesar shouted in a young voice from above.
Rhodey jumped, startled, but smiled broadly when he saw Caesar. "Caesar! You're too late, the war is already over. You missed quite a show. Loki got the beating of his life from Hulk and Eddie!"
"Got held up," Caesar replied, deflecting. "Where are the Avengers? And the Tesseract?"
Rhodey pointed east, grinning. "SHIELD headquarters is still standing. The Captain and the others just retreated there. Loki and the Tesseract have been taken for processing."
"Got it," Caesar said, wasting no time. He immediately accelerated, leaving a trail of white sonic booms as he shot into the sky at supersonic speed and quickly disappeared from view.
"The war's over, but there's still business to be done?" Rhodey muttered, scratching his head in confusion. He shook it off and returned to the demanding tasks of post-war reconstruction.
## (End of Chapter)
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