Leo's words lit a spark in Tony's mind.
Humans… powerful beings too?
Why not? If Mutants could exist, why couldn't humanity produce its own legends?
"Then who are they?" Tony asked quickly, his curiosity blazing. "How do they compare to the most powerful Mutants?"
Leo smirked. "Oh? You really want to know? That'll cost you a consultation fee."
Tony froze. Not again.
This money-hungry bastard—was he seriously trying to scam him again?
His internal warning alarms flashed red. There was no way Leo would give him actual names without some kind of trick attached. Every time money came up, Tony felt an instant headache.
But curiosity was torture. It gnawed at him like a cat clawing at his brain.
Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Fine. How much?"
"One hundred million U.S. dollars."
Tony inhaled sharply. "You rob banks in your free time, don't you?"
He groaned. People said he made money fast, but compared to Leo, he was just an amateur.
"Alright," Tony muttered bitterly. "Deal."
Leo grinned. "Knew it. Mr. Tony Stark—the generous rich man himself."
He coughed lightly, enjoying Tony's visible pain. "Alright then. But I'm warning you—don't go blabbing about this, or you might not live long."
Tony crossed his arms, listening intently.
"The Earth faction," Leo began seriously, "has the Sorcerer Supreme—Ancient One, and her successor, Doctor Strange. Then there's the cosmic powerhouse Captain Marvel. And don't forget the half-god Star-Lord—strongest of the bunch, if you ask me."
He paused dramatically. "But the greatest hero of all… will be you, Tony Stark. The man who saves the entire Universe."
Leo barely held back his laughter. Fool him. Fool him hard. Who's gonna fact-check me, anyway?
Star-Lord standing shoulder-to-shoulder with gods? Totally believable.
Tony listened carefully at first, nodding along. Each name sounded more unbelievable than the last—Sorcerers, cosmic warriors, demigods…
But when Leo said he would save the Universe? That's when Tony snapped.
"Bullshit!" he exploded. "Everything before that sounded cool, but me? Saving the Universe? Get real!"
Leo sighed dramatically. "No one believes the truth these days. It's tragic, really. No trust between people anymore."
He waved lazily. "Anyway, I'm leaving. By the way, today's total is four-point-one billion. Don't forget to wire it over. Fast."
And with a flash of light, Leo vanished—leaving Tony behind to clean up the mess.
"Figures," Tony muttered. "He causes the chaos and leaves me with the paperwork."
In a deserted stretch outside the city, Leo reappeared—smiling faintly, like someone who knew a secret.
Just then—
Sizzle!
Two dim yellow portals snapped open in front of him, and a dozen dark-armored agents rushed out.
The Time Variance Authority had arrived.
Leo raised a brow. Didn't take them long this time.
He'd only messed with the timeline a little, yet the TVA's watchdogs were already barking.
But Leo wasn't the same as before.
The agents instantly deployed a Time Deceleration Field, freezing everything in a hundred-meter radius to one-sixteenth normal speed.
Too bad for them—Leo already knew their tricks.
He wasn't some idiot like Loki, who just stood there showing off.
In a blur, he teleported several hundred meters away, escaping the slow zone entirely.
"What the hell?!" one of the agents shouted. "He has teleportation powers now?!"
"Impossible! He didn't have that before!"
"He's evolving too fast—this makes no sense!"
"Are we dreaming?!"
Their disbelief didn't last long.
Leo smiled coldly. "Poor puppets. I'll grant you liberation. Rest easy."
Before they could even aim their batons, frost crept up their armor. One by one, their bodies froze solid.
Then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They shattered like glass, scattering into glittering powder.
Leo brushed imaginary dust from his sleeve. "Amitabha. May your next life be less pathetic."
The Destroyer System chimed immediately:
[Ding! The host has killed an elite TVA agent. +200 bio-energy points.]
[Ding! The host has killed an elite TVA squad leader. +500 bio-energy points.]
[Ding! Total bio-energy gained: 2500 points.]
Leo grinned. "Not bad at all. Nice little bonus."
Meanwhile, outside the Multiverse, alarms blared through the Time Variance Authority's citadel.
Red warning lights flooded the control room as the Chief Judge stormed out of her chambers.
"Guards! What the hell happened?!" she barked.
A panicked officer stumbled in, clutching a tablet. "Chief Judge! Bad news! The entire enforcement squad in Universe 199999 has been wiped out during a time-criminal apprehension!"
Her face darkened.
"And… and reports say in the Doomsday Timeline 2387, Loki has destroyed another TVA team!"
The Chief Judge's breathing grew heavy, her rage simmering like a volcano about to erupt.
"F*ck! Those two damn lunatics!"
She paced furiously, then stopped, her expression cold and calculating.
"Forget Leo for now," she ordered. "Prioritize Loki. Track her down and stop her. But keep close surveillance on the universe Leo's in. If we can't catch him, we'll make sure he's annoyed."
"Yes, Chief Judge!"
The officer bowed and bolted, eager to escape before she exploded again.
She watched him go, muttering to herself, "Leo's just a time criminal—annoying, but manageable. Loki's the real threat."
Her gaze hardened.
"Hmph. When I have the time, I'll deal with you personally, Leo."
Then she vanished into the shadows.
Back on Earth, Leo crouched, picking up one of the TVA's discarded time batons.
He twirled it thoughtfully. "Heh, not bad. Perfect for sneak attacks."
After cleaning up the battlefield, Leo finally sat down and waited.
Because the real rewards were about to arrive.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You've disrupted the Iron Man 1 timeline, altering multiple fates.]
[Reward: +2,000,000 System Points.]
[Reward: Umbrella Hive Base (stored in System Space; deployable anytime).]
[Reward: Android 18 Bodyguard (from main world).]
Leo's grin widened. "Now this is what I call profit."