Avengers Tower

Lu Mingyu looked utterly helpless. He raised his head to gaze at the starry sky, as though he could see his own world through the stars. A sense of loneliness lingered around him for a long time. He missed his family and friends from his own world, as well as the friends he had yet to meet. Though he could be a real bastard sometimes, Lu Mingyu had a good reputation. He was loyal, reasonable, and aside from his studies, practically a perfect person.

So there should be plenty of people who missed him, right? Lu Mingyu thought as he watched Tony and Stephen, finding the two of them rather amusing. They seemed like rivals, yet also like kindred spirits who understood each other.

Tony gestured wildly in front of Stephen. "You were clearly off wandering some mystical realm or spacing out at the time. I'm certain I said it."

Stephen did not give an inch in the face of Tony's accusation. "Do you have proof?"

"Jarvis was there at the time. Isn't that right, Jarvis?"

"...Sir, I am unable to answer."

"See? Even Jarvis doesn't know. What can you do now?"

Tony rubbed his chin and looked at Stephen. "So, you're joining the Avengers?"

"I'm not. I don't want to sign the Sokovia Accords." Stephen had no intention of fully exposing the world of magic to the public. The timing was not right yet, so he could not join the Avengers. Besides, the Avengers had already started to lose their original character. They had become like workers being monitored by a group of agents, forced to go wherever the agents in charge told them to go. Then again, perhaps those people were not agents after all? Stephen thought.

Lu Mingyu interrupted their conversation with a single sentence. It was already late at night, and he really wanted to find a bed to sleep in. After all, he had just been hunted down. "Listen, gentlemen, let's all take a step back. It's late, and I want to sleep. As for the Avengers, all I can say is that I'm very interested, but I don't want to sign the Sokovia Accords. So, Tony, my idol, could you find me a bed for the sake of one of your fans? Or, since I saved your life, could you find me a bed?"

Tony had just been about to speak when Stephen cut him off. Pointing at Lu Mingyu, Stephen said, "I'd like to borrow this kid for a few days. You don't mind, do you?"

Stephen continued, "I have a feeling this kid is unusual, so I want to take him to the Sanctum."

"The Sanctum?" Tony repeated.

"Yes. What, you didn't know?" Seeing Tony's puzzled expression, Stephen had assumed Tony already knew about it.

Tony shook his head.

Stephen said, "Thor came to my Sanctum when he asked me to help find his father. I thought he had told you. Otherwise, how did we meet?"

"All right, I'll drop by your Sanctum sometime. But as you know, Little Lu said he wants to sleep, so I'll take him with me first. I don't know what caught your eye about this kid, so if you want to take him away, tell me about..." Tony gestured with his hand, knowing Stephen would understand. He meant that there was some mysterious power within Lu Mingyu, and Tony wanted to study it.

Stephen shook his head, indicating that he did not know. He had never encountered that kind of power before. After giving it some thought, Stephen said, "Maybe it is the right choice for you to take him. But it doesn't matter. I'll send you back. Avengers Tower, that's what I call it."

As he spoke, a crimson-gold ring of light appeared beneath the night sky. This was the power of the Sling Ring, opening a passage between one place and another. Stephen pointed at it. "Let's go, gentlemen. Tonight will be a wonderful night."

Tony nodded. He had been through a small-scale escape, and all things considered, it had not been too bad.

Lu Mingyu, on the other hand, had no reaction. He had long known about the Sling Ring's power, so he was not particularly surprised. Tony, however, kept asking Stephen about the secrets of the Sling Ring. Lu Mingyu guessed that Tony wanted to apply its operating principles to his armor. That way, even if he were far away, the Iron Man Armor could appear as long as he activated the function.

Stephen merely shook his head, saying that the world of magic and the world of technology were better kept separate.

Lu Mingyu stood atop the "A" on Avengers Tower. He knew it was what remained of "STARK" after the battle that had taken place before. Though the A stood for Avengers, Lu Mingyu still felt it was somewhat haphazard. From above the A, he could look into the distance and see a blaze of color. He smiled with quiet satisfaction. As both a Marvel fan and a DC fan, he had never imagined that he could stand atop the real Avengers Tower, nor had he imagined that he could possess the real Speed Force.

He had never expected any of what happened today, but since he had encountered it, he would live well. His mother and his friends were still waiting for him to return. Life here might be wonderful, but without his family by his side, Lu Mingyu could not truly live well. He would always be left with regret.

Tony stood where the tower received aircraft. Mechanical arms controlled by Jarvis dismantled the Iron Man Armor piece by piece until Tony was left wearing only those worn black clothes. They were covered in little tears from his escape. Tony accepted the red wine Jarvis handed him and looked out at New York beneath the night sky, feeling an unprecedented sense of relief.

Just last night, he had been drawn over by a strange signal, only to encounter Quicksilver. At the most critical moment, he had pierced the circuits in the Iron Man Armor to electrocute Quicksilver, but who could have known that the armor would actually catch fire inside? Later, he met Lu Mingyu. This kid, who was not all that grown up, had kept leading him as they fled, never abandoning him. Tony felt that the boy possessed something of Captain America's qualities—a spirit that never abandoned or gave up on anyone.

It was already the following night, but Tony knew that only twenty-four hours had passed. He knew that if no one had rescued or helped him during those twenty-four hours, Quicksilver would have killed him.

Tony instructed Jarvis to bring Stephen and Lu Mingyu each a glass of red wine, then had Jarvis prepare several small dishes. He said to Lu Mingyu, "Kid, let me thank you first. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead."

Lu Mingyu felt Tony's sincere gratitude. Smiling faintly, he raised his glass. "You're my idol. Of course I had to save you."

"No, no. Even if many people met their idol, they still wouldn't refuse to give up on me like you did. Most people might have chosen to save themselves. I'm very glad. You remind me of someone."

"Thor?" Stephen interjected.

Tony looked at him awkwardly. "What, you think Thor is a lot like Lu Mingyu? Why do I think he resembles Steve?"

"No, no. This kid couldn't possibly have Rogers's kind of presence. He's obviously more like Thor."

"...Gentlemen." Lu Mingyu looked helplessly at the two highly intelligent men. He was having a little trouble keeping up.