Eye of Agamotto

Quicksilver, Lu Mingyu, and the tiny stone about to hit Tony all froze in place. Time continued normally for everything else around them. A portal suddenly appeared before Lu Mingyu, crimson-gold lines spinning through the air as they opened a space.

The Eye of Agamotto on Doctor Strange's chest was at work, freezing Lu Mingyu and Quicksilver within a moment of time. Neither of them could move. With no passage of time, they were like dead men, without awareness or the ability to act in that instant. But Lu Mingyu was different. The Speed Force flowed through him. The Speed Force could travel through time and alter timelines, so naturally it was not bound by time. Time could affect the Speed Force, but one day, the Speed Force would tear a breach through it.

Within the frozen time, Lu Mingyu could clearly see Doctor Strange. The Speed Force within him was racing as if it were about to break free of time's restraints. At that moment, Doctor Strange released his control over Lu Mingyu. Carried by inertia, Lu Mingyu punched Quicksilver in the face, only to hear a bang as he was sent flying.

Clutching his hand, which had nearly been dislocated, he said, "Why is Quicksilver's body so hard? My god, I couldn't even break his leg before, and now even his face is this tough!"

Doctor Strange touched the Black Lantern Ring on Quicksilver's hand. His brow furrowed as he said, "The breach... where is it?"

"What breach?" Tony walked over and patted Doctor Strange on the shoulder. "Hey, man, we meet again. You know, I think you and I are the most alike. You know, I've always been pretty interested in that Eye of Agamotto of yours. How about you let me..."

"Impossible." Doctor Strange frowned. He had not expected Tony to ask for the Eye of Agamotto the second time they met. He remembered that Tony had been especially interested in it during their first meeting as well. Turning to Lu Mingyu, he said, "Did you know that you nearly broke through time's confinement just now? I've seen that kind of power when fighting Dormammu. Remember when I restored the damaged Hong Kong? Those bastards actually broke through time. I want to know—were you sent by Dormammu too? I remember we made an agreement. He was not supposed to invade Earth again."

"Uh, of course not. And wasn't Dormammu trapped by you in an eternal loop of time back then, repeating the same period over and over? He couldn't even escape it, so how could I?" Lu Mingyu chuckled, but his answer only made Doctor Strange more suspicious of his identity.

Doctor Strange questioned, "I don't remember telling anyone else about that. So only Dormammu and I know about it. Then you..."

"Anyway, I'm not. Besides, a small part of my abilities is related to time." Lu Mingyu did not directly mention that, if he became strong enough, he could travel through time or cross parallel universes. Of course, he could not hide it forever. One day, he would tell them.

Doctor Strange examined Lu Mingyu's body and found nothing wrong with him. Then he looked at the cold glint flying in from afar, his expression changing slightly. A dark blade was hurtling straight toward Doctor Strange. No one knew what would happen if it struck him. Lightning flickered in Lu Mingyu's eyes, and the Speed Force became blue lightning behind him as he swiftly shoved Doctor Strange away and sent him somewhere else.

Lu Mingyu stopped and looked at Doctor Strange's condition, but Doctor Strange was still staring at that blade!

The blade had actually pierced through the Eye of Agamotto's power, directly freeing Quicksilver from its restraints. Quicksilver immediately fled into the distance. At the same time, the tiny stone also broke free of the Eye of Agamotto's confinement and missed because Tony had moved.

"Holy shit!" Doctor Strange stared at the vanished dark blade in disbelief, realizing the severity of the problem. That blade could actually break the Eye of Agamotto's control. Although he had not fully unleashed the Eye of Agamotto's power, the fact that it could be broken meant the problem brought by this breach was far more serious than this. The disaster would be even more terrifying. But where was the breach?

Lu Mingyu said nothing as he watched Doctor Strange's shocked expression, because he knew that the Eye of Agamotto contained the Time Stone. The fact that the blade could so easily break through the Time Stone's power naturally shocked Doctor Strange to such an extent.

"Hey, Stephen. You didn't need to come over. I could've handled it myself. My suit will be here soon." Tony turned to Lu Mingyu and said, "You've got to trust my tech. I used this move to catch people off guard back then!"

"But your suit still hasn't arrived." Lu Mingyu shook his head helplessly.

At that moment, several points of light flashed in the night sky. They rapidly grew larger, then swiftly attached themselves to Tony's body. The red-and-gold armor clad him once more. Tony spread his arms to show off his armor and said to Lu Mingyu, "Kid, I told you I'm confident in my tech. And my tech can absolutely support us in fighting Quicksilver."

Lu Mingyu said, "But if he had really come just now, and Doctor Strange hadn't helped us, I figure we'd already be dead."

"What happened before was just a delaying tactic. I wanted to see whether he still had any conscience, whether he was worth saving." Tony refused to admit that something had gone wrong with his armor. He said to Jarvis, "Jarvis, is there any record of Little Lu in the Sokovia Accords?"

Jarvis searched the system before answering, "There is no record, sir."

"Hey, kid, what was your full name again?"

"My full name? Didn't I tell you?" Lu Mingyu said.

Tony was helpless. Forced to admit it, he said, "Uh, I actually forgot."

"..." Lu Mingyu fell silent before saying, "Don't forget this time. My name is Lu Mingyu, and I'm Chinese."

"Jarvis, is Lu Mingyu recorded in the Sokovia Accords?"

"He is not, sir."

Tony drew a deep breath and said, "Do you want to join the Avengers?"

Clearly, he was speaking to Lu Mingyu, but Doctor Strange interrupted him. Looking at Tony, Doctor Strange said, "You want him to join the Avengers? You don't even know his background. What kind of relationship do you even have with him?"

Doctor Strange did not remember Tony inviting him to join the Avengers when he had first met Iron Man. Yet now Tony was inviting a teenager to join the Avengers. How utterly... ridiculous?

"I've always been a good judge of people."

"Then why didn't you invite me?"

"I did, but at the time you were having an out-of-body experience or something. Anyway, you were off wandering spiritually, just like my therapist."