Doctor Strange's face darkened instantly.
He wanted to refute, but he didn't know where to start.
After becoming a sorcerer, his desires and attachments had significantly lessened.
Even his close friend and former love interest, Christine Palmer, was now someone he barely kept in touch with.
But he couldn't stand Iron Man's smug tone, as if saying, "I have a beautiful wife, and you don't. Seriously? How could you not have one?"
Captain America chimed in, "I didn't expect Pepper to agree to marry you, Tony. Honestly, I thought we'd be congratulating you for a long time."
"Tony, we get it. You're happy to be married to Pepper. But you've been bragging about it for over a month now. Can you give it a rest?" Rhodey, aka War Machine, added, trying to diffuse the situation.
Iron Man shrugged nonchalantly. "Bragging? I'm just talking about the everyday life of a loving couple. Nothing special."
Doctor Strange: Fists clenched.
Captain America: Repaying kindness with cruelty?
Even Rhodey couldn't stand it anymore. He pointed at Iron Man and said to the others, "You know what? Maybe you all should just beat him up."
Thankfully, everyone involved was a mature adult. Things didn't escalate into an actual brawl.
At this moment, Peter entered the area.
Hearing Iron Man's comments, Peter couldn't help but feel speechless. But then, something clicked.
Now he understood why it had been so hard to reach Iron Man earlier.
It was all because of this!
This version of Iron Man was no longer the carefree playboy he once was. At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, he and Pepper Potts announced their engagement, and they had tied the knot last month.
Since getting married, he had become a devoted family man.
Most likely, Pepper was already pregnant.
In the original timeline, five years later, Iron Man's daughter, Morgan Stark, was four years old. This suggested she would be born next year.
It was even possible that in the original timeline, when Pepper called him before he boarded the spaceship, she had intended to tell him this news.
Unfortunately, the spaceship left Earth, cutting off the signal.
Still, regardless of whether Pepper was pregnant or not, it didn't change how much Tony loved her.
Peter sat down beside Doctor Strange, grabbed a breadstick from the table, and started eating.
With so many people around, it was clearly not the right time to ask sensitive questions.
The group ate and chatted casually. The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious, even though many of them were meeting for the first time.
Perhaps it was that feeling of camaraderie, as if they had known each other forever.
After breakfast, as everyone went their separate ways, Peter finally found an opportunity to talk to Doctor Strange alone and ask the question that had been gnawing at him all night.
"What exactly do I do in the future? I know you've seen something, right? Did I... use the Infinity Gauntlet to snap my fingers?"
Doctor Strange looked slightly surprised but didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he offered a faint smile and said, "Some things are difficult to imagine until you've experienced them yourself."
With that, he walked away without another word.
Peter: Can the Riddler just leave Wakanda already?
But Doctor Strange's response left Peter with a lingering feeling.
It seemed like he really might have done it.
Even if he didn't, he must have done something just as significant.
Peter smacked his forehead, growing increasingly curious about what the future held. How could he end up at such a critical juncture?
---
After Breakfast
Peter, Iron Man, and Captain America set out.
Their chosen battleground was the Avengers' new headquarters in New York, the same place where Peter and the others had first met Iron Man and War Machine.
The decision to fight there wasn't due to the cliché that New York is the center of the Marvel universe. Instead, it was because the Avengers' headquarters was Iron Man's stronghold.
Here, he had access to his fleet of autonomous Iron Legion suits, and an armed satellite loaded with countless weapons orbited overhead.
If the enemy dared to come, Iron Man was ready to go all out in a direct confrontation.
Captain America didn't mind the location; as long as he had his shield, he was ready to fight anywhere.
The previous night, Wakanda's research department worked overtime to craft him a vibranium shield. The design closely resembled the one he had used before.
Most likely, the shield would become his to keep.
While Wakanda strictly upheld its policy of not exporting vibranium to the outside world, they weren't inflexible.
The restriction was to prevent global destabilization, but for individuals they trusted, sharing a small amount of vibranium wasn't a big deal.
Doctor Strange drew a portal, and the three of them stepped through, instantly arriving at the Avengers' headquarters, thousands of miles away.
As soon as they arrived, Iron Man got to work.
Using his authority, he cleared the facility of all personnel. The massive Avengers headquarters wasn't just home to a few superheroes; the support staff numbered in the hundreds, including teams for research, medical aid, intelligence, and logistics.
However, for the imminent battle of titans, their presence would be more of a liability, risking collateral damage.
Next, Iron Man instructed his AI assistant, Friday, to take control of the base's defense systems. He also established direct communication with the armed satellite in orbit.
The satellite entered a state of combat readiness, with all launch ports on standby, ensuring it could deliver payloads within seconds of receiving the command.
Later that afternoon, the Secretary of State made an unwelcome appearance.
He demanded that Iron Man hand over Captain America.
But he didn't stay long—Iron Man promptly sent him packing.
Unlike War Machine, who was tied to the government and had to tread carefully, Iron Man had no such constraints.
Apart from his role in the Avengers, he was also a billionaire, giving him significant leverage.
In this country's system, as long as he didn't cross the line, no one dared to touch him.
So, once again, the Secretary of State was unceremoniously ejected.
Iron Man even ignored his threats.
One by one, cold, steel-clad suits of armor marched out, taking defensive positions around the Avengers headquarters.
The soldiers sent to apprehend Captain America hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances.
Iron Man's reputation was well-known, and now he had made it clear he was ready to face them head-on. Who would dare throw themselves into the line of fire?
Meanwhile, inside the base, Iron Man, Captain America, and Peter paid no attention to the commotion outside.
Captain America focused on his physical training, his usual routine.
Peter continued experimenting with his newly discovered quantum abilities.
In addition to his Quantum Webbing, he had named another ability Quantum Stinger.
To him, injecting quantum energy into an opponent's body felt similar to a venomous sting.
The only difference was that his "sting" could theoretically emerge from anywhere and be directed at will!
And so, the day passed.
Finally, the scheduled time for the arrival of the Black Order had come.
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09