Even though it was deep into autumn, the West Coast sun was still blistering. Stark was lying on the beach chair, sipping a juice from his hand.
Pepper sat on a nearby chair, applying sunscreen on herself while questioning Stark who was relaxing, "So, you're just giving your lab to another you from a different universe? Are you sure he can handle the work of our universe?"
"I didn't bring him over to handle my work." Stark shrugged, "I just let Peter from his universe bring him over because trouble is definitely coming my way. And not just one trouble, if I don't make myself scarce, I am definitely going to be in deep water."
Pepper leaned in curiously, "What kind trouble could make Stark, the magnificent, abandon his lab projects and come all the way to the West Coast to keep me company?"
Stark took another sip of his juice, letting out a deep sigh and after a moment of thought, he uttered, "It's too complicated, very hard to explain."
Meanwhile in Stark Tower Laboratory, situated in New York, the unfortunate Stark who was tricked into coming over was now pondering over a philosophical question - do the parents from a parallel universe count as your own parents?
Theoretically, they shouldn't. If every parallel universe Stark had a pair of parents in it, then each pair of parents would only belong to their own Stark and can't be mixed up.
But the problem was, mostly all Starks across the universe no longer had parents, with the exception of the Central Universe's Stark which still had both parents. Thus emotionally, it proved hard for Stark to respond to Maria's pressing questions with "You're not my mother."
Moreover, Stark knew that even if he claimed to be from a parallel universe, Maria would still question who he eventually marries, if he has children, and so forth. But Stark could not answer those questions because his version of Earth was in the recovery stage and matters related to love and children could only be discussed later.
So, he only casually shrugged in a nonchalant manner and turned his head, saying, "This question is complicated. You need to give me some time to think it through before I can explain it to you."
Stark planned to bob and weave his way through this situation. After all, he would leave in a few days and it would be this other Stark's problem.
So thinking, he took a few steps backward, winked at Peter and said, "I have left something at home. I will go back to get it and we can chat later."
After saying that, he flashed a greasy and insincere smile, his feet oiled and slipped away rapidly. It was not until he was in front of the elevator that he heard Maria's roar from the room.
"Howard! It's all the crap you got up to when you were younger! You never set a good example for our son!"
Standing at the elevator gate, Stark flashed a smile full of schadenfreude. Peter, who had just caught up with him, asked, "Mr. Stark, where are we going now?"
"Of course, we are going to find Stark from this universe. If he isn't in the lab, then he must be at home. Let's move, let's find him and ask him where he hid Shiller."
Most of the time, Stark lived in Stark Group's building. Often working in the lab throughout the night, napping in the dormitory in the morning, then dealing with miscellaneous matters.
Sometimes he would go to The Avenger's base, still working throughout the night on equipment, dealing with all sorts of logistical work, then taking a short nap within the Mecha.
But other than the Stark Family's old house, Stark also owned his own penthouse in Manhattan's prime real estate area. Occasionally, he would spend a few nights over there, normally when he's on party or dating duty.
Stark knew himself very well. If he could not be found in the laboratory during the evening, he was definitely in a cover model's bed. So going to the apartment to find another him could also allow him the opportunity to enjoy his awkward expressions.
Thinking about that, Stark soon arrived at his Manhattan apartment's entrance. To avoid having Peter see some scenes that were not suitable for minors, Stark left him at the restaurant downstairs and went to the elevator alone.
The elevator of the penthouse was independent. Therefore, as soon as the elevator door opened, Stark immediately entered the familiar entrance hall. Before turning around to head to the bedroom, a crisp female voice came from the bathroom.
Stark raised an eyebrow, but before he could feel satisfied with his accurate prediction, he saw a slender black-haired figure walk out of the bathroom - it was Loki.
Stark froze at once. Loki in front of him was wearing a white silk nightrobe. Her long black hair was half dried, some damp hair strands stick to her cheeks. There were still water droplets on her white neck and chest. She should have just taken a bath.
Seeing Stark appear at the door, Loki looked him up and down and said while drying her hair with a towel, "Why are you back only now? I've been waiting for you for half a day."
While Stark was still stunned, the door of the elevator suddenly opened again, with Peter and Howard walking out of it. Howard was saying as he walked, "Tony, we really need to talk. You need to find a way to make up for this lie. Otherwise, your mom will nag us all the time..."
Howard who had just walked out spotted Loki in her nightrobe with her hair still damp and Stark being stunned beside her.
He stared at Stark and said, "Tony, didn't you say there's nothing between you and Loki? So, you two really... Helen is really... humans and Asgardians can... what???"
Howard pressed his forehead, completely puzzled. But noticing Loki put down the towel and put her hands in the gown's pocket, he immediately placed his hand over his eyes in embarrassment, grabbed Peter and rushed out, telling him as he walked, "Whichever it's for you guys tonight. But tomorrow, you have to give me an explanation!"
After saying that, he hurriedly left with Peter who had the authority to unlock the elevator. Stark stared at Loki and said, "So this universe's Tony Stark really had something with you... How did you two... Wouldn't Thor..."
Stark lowered his head, thought for a moment in a sober manner, and looked up at Loki again from head to toe. Loki blinked her eyes.
"What I mean is…" Stark, crossing his arms and lightly tapping a foot, said, "Every universe's Loki is... huh?"
The moment Stark's gaze swept over Loki's face, his eyes stayed fixed directly on those green eyes. Ignoring a sense of discomfort brought about by the vaguely familiar features and charisma, Stark had to admit that Loki was truly beautiful, possessing a unique allure.
He involuntarily took two steps forward, slightly lowering his head to look at the Loki before him. "If every universe's Loki is as beautiful as you, The Avengers would have surely welcomed Thor more enthusiastically."
Loki smiled lightly, and as she raised her eyes, the dew on her lashes slid towards the root of her lashes and into her eyes, adding another layer of sparkle to her emerald-green eyes.
Suddenly, her pupils flickered. Loki frowned, staring at Stark's face, "You're really not the Tony Stark from this universe, where did he go?"
"I came to find him too." Stark spread his hands and said, "I thought I would meet some cover girl here, but it turned out to be you."
Loki, discarding her slightly pitiful expression and slipping back into her guise as the God of Mischief, snorted coldly. "Of course it's me. I know his parents would look for him here if they can't find him in the lab. If you didn't come, they would have probably found me lying on Tony's bed."
Loki, slightly annoyed, pulled off the towel on her hair and tossed it onto the couch nearby. After sitting down, she crossed her legs and arms, biting her teeth. "Damn! He ran off early?! What went wrong? Did someone leak the plan too soon?"
"Really, Loki." Stark walked over to her, looking at her. "Your method to deal with this universe's Stark is to get in his bed and ruin his reputation, isn't that a bit too low?"
Loki rolled her eyes. "Are you listening to yourself? Tony Stark has a reputation to smear in this regard? Or are you saying, he brought those cover models here to discuss honor issues all night?"
Stark was taken aback. He smacked his lips, his momentum somewhat weakened as he mumbled, "That's my private issue, even so, you shouldn't..."
"Who let him hit me several times with his stupid Mecha, calling me 'weak god'?" Loki said irritably, crossing her arms.
"Tsk."
Stark couldn't help but chuckle, instantly earning a glare from Loki. He quickly straightened his expression, posing a serious look. "He truly lacks grace, how could he act so rude towards a beautiful lady?"
Stark leaned forward, his forearm resting on his knee, while Loki relaxed back into the sofa, her arm resting on the armrest, her body slanting to one side. Seeing Stark's interested expression, she raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I guess, after we met the last time, you must have taken a good few looks at your universe's Loki, didn't you?"
"Honestly, you're much more likeable than her." Stark made a funny face. "She caused quite a ruckus in our universe, unforgivable, no matter how beautiful."
Loki hummed lightly, switching her crossed legs. Brushing a hand through her long, ear-tucked hair, she said, "Given your perceptivity, in response to your question, yes, Lokis have no gender. I'm a man or a woman depending on my mood."
"Don't tell me you're here for this world's Stark..."
"Don't flatter yourself." Loki's gaze averted as she twirled a strand of hair. "You should know, Natasha's evaluation of you doesn't quite stand in good terms."
"That's because she's the Black Widow. No one should blame a man for not being able to handle her." Stark said somewhat sulkily.
Then, he raised an eyelid, skilfully retrieved two wine glasses from under the coffee table, but didn't immediately place them before Loki. Instead, he ran his fingertips around the rim of one of the glasses, "I guess, you don't have anyone else to wait for tonight?"
"Are you implying the same about yourself?"
"Yes, we're both unfortunate yet fortunate in the same vein."
Loki chuckled brightly. It was as if Stark had received a silent nod, his brown eyes beamed with laughter through his lashes as he lowered his gaze. He placed the wine glass in front of Loki.
Just then, Loki laughed again. She glanced at the clock nearby and said, "Look at the time, Thor should be off work soon."
"Are you reminding me to hurry up?" Stark looked up at her.
Loki grabbed the stem of the wine glass that Stark had given her, but neither her hand nor the glass left the table. As Stark extended his hand, right before his fingertips were about to touch Loki's fair hand, a deep laughter reverberated from above.
"I sure am lucky because if today's visitor was the Stark from my universe, he wouldn't have fallen for such a simple trick."
The moment Stark's fingertips touched the back of Loki's hand, a storm erupted out of nowhere. Outside the window, there was the roar of thunder, followed by a furious shout from the heavens.
"Tony Stark!!! I knew you were up to no good!!!!"