The Final Battle

San Francisco, Bay Arena

After thinking it over again and again, Lin Xu had decided to come to another universe.

It wasn't that he was afraid to die. The main reason was... All right, it really was because he was afraid to die.

Who knew if that bastard Dormammu would scour the universe for him once he learned the truth?

"I wonder where that old geezer Ancient One sent me. He said that when someone crossed timelines into another universe, most of the time they would form a connection with the timeline and appear at a critical point in time."

Holding Grani, who had transformed into a fat orange cat, Lin Xu looked around, somewhat speechless. What critical point in time took place in a storage facility?

"Squeak~ squeak~ squeak~"

A strange sound came from underfoot. He looked down and saw that he had accidentally stepped on a mouse.

"Poor Jerry~ Grani, do you want to eat him?"

"Meow?"

"Oh, I forgot you're a horse, not a cat~"

Lin Xu kicked the half-dead Jerry aside and was about to leave when a van caught his eye. Through its rear window, he could see that it was empty, with no seats, only a round, unidentified device and strange metal panels on the interior walls. Rows of instruments he couldn't make sense of stood behind the van.

A strange sense of familiarity welled up in him.

Lin Xu glanced at the instruments, then down at the mouse he had crippled with a single step. Hoping he might get lucky, he tiptoed over to the instruments.

He couldn't make sense of them...

I'm screwed!!!!

Just then, Gungnir, which was tucked beneath Grani's rear, suddenly began to shake without warning.

Smack~

"Don't move. I'm trying to figure out how to fix this!"

"Meow??"

Norway, New Asgard~

The instant Lin Xu arrived in this world, Stormbreaker began to shake violently. Lightning ran wild around it, and everything in the room was shaken to pieces, including the bed a drunken Thor was lying on!

The sudden commotion jolted Thor awake. He looked at his "bottle opener" in confusion. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

"A new weapon for the king of Asgard? How is that possible? Eitri doesn't have the materials to make a weapon for Valkyrie anymore."

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

"What do you mean, a new weapon with an ancient aura?"

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

"... I must still be asleep..."

Kathmandu, Kamar-Taj

After noting down the storage facility's name and number, Lin Xu thought it over and decided to call in a professional. He wouldn't know what to do himself, and if he fiddled with the equipment, he might end up making Ant-Man disappear for good.

But when he thought about it, he didn't know a single person in this universe. The only one who could quickly accept who he was would be the current Sorcerer Supreme.

This time, however, when Lin Xu appeared in Kamar-Taj's training courtyard, his reception was completely different from last time.

All the sorcerers looked puzzled at the sight of the Eye of Agamotto hanging in front of Lin Xu, but none dared speak.

Soon, the current Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, arrived!

He looked at Lin Xu, equally puzzled. At Tony Stark's wedding, Tony had told him that the container holding the Time Stone had turned to dust along with Strange.

What was this, then?

"Who are you? Why do you have the Eye of Agamotto?"

Without wasting words, Lin Xu went through the same process as last time. He pulled out the Sling Ring, tossed it to Wong, and said, "I have this too. Sorcerer Hamir's Sling Ring."

After examining the Sling Ring carefully, Wong looked up and stared intently at Lin Xu. "As the Sorcerer Supreme of another universe, you should understand that crossing time and space at will can have irreversible consequences if anything goes wrong."

"First, I'm not the Sorcerer Supreme. Ancient One sent me here."

Before Wong could digest what he had just said, Lin Xu continued, "Second, the consequences have already happened, so I came to ask for your help correcting the timeline!"

Once everything had been explained, Wong rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, feeling somewhat relieved but also troubled.

Although Lin Xu had only given him a rough idea of the future without revealing any specific details, there was good news after all.

Five years. Do you know what I've been through these past five years? It was supposed to be a random half, but Kamar-Taj had lost a full sixty percent. He had been exhausted these past five years. Fortunately, Strange could come back.

"When are you leaving? I can introduce you to Stark whenever you want!"

"Let's not do it these next few days. I plan to use this time to practice the mystic arts some more. Right now I have power, but my methods of fighting enemies are still too limited."

Hearing that, Wong looked at Lin Xu's equipment and silently rolled his eyes.

"Then how are you going to save that Ant-Man person?"

"Do you still have Strange's phone?" Lin Xu gave a mysterious smile.

Wong glanced at Lin Xu and held out both hands. A small portal appeared in front of him, with a phone on the other side.

"I charge it every week~"

Lin Xu laughed and typed a text message to Stark.

Wong stood behind Lin Xu and watched everything he did. There was only one word to describe it!

"Brilliant!!"

A villa in the woods, Nassau County, Long Island, New York

"Shit!! Tony, you really need to do something about her!"

The father and daughter curled up on the couch playing cards both shrank back at the roar.

"Oh, my dear little Morgan, what did you do this time?"

"I don't know. I even helped Mommy fertilize the plants~"

"Good girl!" Tony patted Morgan on the head, somewhat pleased. His child had grown up and could even help her mom and dad with chores.

"Was it those two big azaleas we brought from Los Angeles?"

"Yes!" As she spoke, Morgan grew a little bashful, her little cheeks turning red.

Seeing her like that, Tony sensed trouble and hurriedly asked, "What did you fertilize them with?"

"Poop~"

Tony: "..."

Just then, F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice sounded. "Sir, you've received a text message."

"Who is it from?"

"Stephen Strange."

"Who?"

"Sir, I've checked. The number does indeed belong to Strange."

Tony fell silent. Someone who had been dead for five years had suddenly sent him a text. Even scheduled messages couldn't be set that far ahead.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Go play with Mommy. Daddy has some work to take care of."

Morgan pouted. "Okay~"

Only after Morgan had left did Tony say, "Let's see what kind of surprise this magician has for me, or perhaps... a scare!"

[Tony Stark:

By the time you read this message, I'll be dead. You must be wondering why I handed over the Time Stone.

U-STORE-It personal storage facility, Bay Arena, San Francisco, (415)178-2272. There's a quantum van there. Restart it and save Scott Lang. That's the only answer!

We're all counting on you, Tony!

... Stephen Strange]