"Is there something wrong with that ugly alien girl at the back?" Strange asked carefully as he followed Alex Ray out.
"Oh? How did you figure that out?" Alex didn't deny it.
Strange was nothing if not cautious. He must have been closely observing the Avengers. When Alex mentioned that more than one person had sacrificed their life, Strange clearly noticed Nebula—the last one at the rear—tremble slightly.
Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal. But with Strange's meticulous nature, it didn't escape him that Nebula was intentionally trying to suppress her presence.
He could feel that Nebula didn't fit in with this group of Avengers—just like him and Alex.
With Alex's hint, the clever Strange caught on immediately.
As for which faction this Nebula belonged to, Strange didn't even need to guess—obviously Thanos. After all, he had seen enough blue-skinned, cybernetic aliens wrecking havoc in Manhattan not long ago.
Why the Avengers hadn't noticed her? Most likely because she had been used as a disguise during their journey through the multiverse.
Strange couldn't help but mutter internally: the superheroes of this world are seriously lacking in brains.
With intelligence like this, can they really protect Earth?
This world wasn't just dangerous because of its enemies—it was dangerous because of incompetent teammates.
The Strange of this universe must've been suicidal, surrounded by allies like these.
Wait—no, he was dead.
"Nope. No way. I'm out of here," Strange muttered, unwilling to share the same fate as the dead version of himself in this timeline.
Thinking quickly, he turned to Alex and said, "Since I've already handed over the Time Stone and showed up here, I think I'll head back now, Alex."
"Just make sure to return the Time Stone once they're done with it. I totally trust you!" he added hastily, opening a portal.
But before he could step through, Alex stopped him.
"No, you can't go back yet. Don't you want to ask why I didn't expose Nebula just now?" Alex stared at the clearly rattled Strange, unimpressed. The guy must've guessed something—or he wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave.
"No, I don't want to know. And I really don't want to hear it either," Strange insisted, practically begging. "I just want to find a nice little cave to hide in. Then, when all of this blows over, I'll pop out again like nothing happened!"
He reached for his portal again, but Alex had already grabbed him by the cloak and yanked him back.
"No, you do want to know. This whole mission was about recovering the remaining Infinity Stones—and seeing how powerful Thanos really is. You're staying here. Don't you want to know what killed your counterpart in this world? It was Thanos. And guess what—we've got a Thanos in our universe, too."
Alex's grip tightened. "So you'd better stay and observe. You don't want to die someday without knowing how to fight back."
That was the reason Alex hadn't exposed Nebula. He wanted to test Thanos' strength. From his knowledge of the future, he was certain this particular timeline would resolve safely. So this was a good opportunity.
He needed to know how large the gap was between him and Thanos—and whether he could kill him right here and now.
If he could, great. He'd just go back and kill the Thanos of his own timeline, too.
If not, he could always let Tony or someone else follow the original plan and snap their fingers to finish the job.
But honestly, Alex was leaning toward the former. Based on what he'd seen last time with the Holland-version Spider-Man, Tony was still alive. That meant the plot had deviated slightly.
So it was highly likely that Alex had already grown strong enough to defeat Thanos himself.
His words clearly got to Strange. The man's fear of death ran deep.
"Yeah… yeah, it is important to observe Thanos' power. I'll just watch from a safe distance. And if things go south, I can always teleport out," Strange muttered, trying to reassure himself.
Just then, Thor wandered over—quietly, almost sheepishly.
Alex eyed the overweight, disheveled version of the God of Thunder with mild curiosity. They weren't exactly close, so he wondered what Thor wanted.
Fat Thor approached and asked, almost bashfully, "I was wondering… how are Loki and my mother doing in your universe?"
Ever since learning that Alex came from a different timeline—and that everyone's life trajectory was different there—Thor had been dying to know what had happened to his family.
After all, he'd lost everyone he loved in this world.
Alex was happy to answer. "They're doing just fine. In my timeline, the Dark Elves haven't started their rebellion yet. Your father and mother are both alive."
Thor let out a long breath of relief, visibly relaxing. He opened his mouth to say more, but Alex cut him off.
"Don't worry, I know. I won't let the Dark Elves kill your mother."
Thor nodded gratefully. But before he could ask more, Alex added with a mysterious expression, "As for your brother Loki…"
Thor tensed immediately. "What happened? Did something happen to Loki? Look, he's actually a good kid. He's not bad at heart. If he did anything to offend you, I apologize on his behalf."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "No, no. Loki's probably doing just fine." In truth, he hadn't paid much attention to Loki recently—but the guy definitely wasn't dead. He was probably off living his mischievous life somewhere.
Brooklyn.
"Ugh… my head…" Loki groaned, clutching his skull as he sat up and glanced around.
He was inside a room—but calling it that was generous. The place was an absolute dump. Even stray dogs would've walked out in protest.
The walls were cracked. A broken stool leaned helplessly in a corner. There was no bed frame—just a thin, stained mattress. The blanket was so torn up it looked like it had survived Ragnarok.
This was somehow worse than a prison cell in Asgard.
Where the hell was he? Had someone rescued his unconscious body?
Looking down at his clothes, Loki blanched. His usual Asgardian robes were gone. In their place were tattered rags that looked like they'd been pulled from a dumpster—one sleeve was even missing.
Loki gasped. "Wait—did I lose my virginity?!"
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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