Familiar Giant Tin Cans

"Scott Lang, T'Challa, and several other fighters sacrificed themselves to get the Infinity Stones back into our hands."

"I put on all six stones. The pain was unimaginable. Strange nodded at me and raised one finger."

"I knew what he meant. This had to be the one future he'd seen where we won, even if I had to make the Snap myself."

Lin Yi frowned at the image of Strange on the screen.

Broad and burly, wearing enormous round black sunglasses—this was Strange?

Lin Yi knew people from Parallel Universes could look different, but this was ridiculous. Give the man a birdcage and send him to a park, and he'd look like an old man out walking his bird.

Tony waved a hand, apparently unwilling to dwell on it.

"That might have something to do with how varied the multiverse is. It's not important. Let me finish."

"Just as I was about to make the Snap, something else happened."

Tony paused. His previously even voice turned grave, with a trace of hatred beneath it.

"A bunch of guys hiding inside tin cans showed up!"

"Guys hiding inside tin cans?" Lin Yi frowned. Was there anything like that in the Marvel Universe?

"These." Tony tapped the screen, bringing up two enormous "tin cans."

Lin Yi studied them. Something about their shape looked strangely familiar.

"They never said where they came from. The moment they appeared, they wiped out Variant Thanos and his army with overwhelming force."

"We thought some friendly aliens had come to help. We had no idea this was only the beginning of another disaster..."

"They released some... monsters. Alien monsters."

Images of the monsters appeared on the screen. They resembled gorillas, with massive upper bodies, slender limbs, gray skin, and barbed joints that jutted outward.

"The tin cans said that although Thanos had been dealt with, the Cosmic Virus he brought couldn't be eliminated. Infected humans would die in agony, but first they'd become frenzied and powerful, and attack other humans."

"They called these monsters their children. They left them behind, saying they could help us deal with the Black-purple veins."

"You didn't accept, did you?" It was an obvious trap. Who sent monsters to help people?

"No. We refused. But the tin cans gave us no choice, and they had no interest in talking to us. They left the monsters behind and departed."

"We tried to contain the monsters and find a way to counter the Cosmic Virus."

"They seemed to understand our language and stayed quietly inside the enclosure we built for them."

"But as more and more people became infected, we still couldn't crack the virus. Then they broke out."

"They slaughtered and devoured humans infected with the Cosmic Virus, while ignoring everyone else."

"That earned them humanity's trust. But that trust didn't last long."

"After killing nearly every infected human, they went quiet for a while. We thought they'd fulfilled their purpose and would leave Blue Star. Instead, they stormed the few cities humanity had left."

"Black-purple mist burst from their bodies. Anyone it touched was rapidly infected with the Cosmic Virus."

"That was when they showed their true colors."

"JARVIS ran tests. Devouring infected life-forms made them stronger. So once they'd eaten all the infected humans, they set their sights on the half of humanity that remained uninfected!"

"If no one was infected, they made sure someone was."

"The social order we'd rebuilt collapsed again in less than a week."

"The Avengers spread out to fight them, but fell one after another."

"At that point, humanity had no hope of a future. The best outcome might have been to launch every nuclear missile we had and take them down with us."

"Then I acquired that technology—the technology to block the Cosmic Virus—and the tide turned again."

"I built a device that shielded all of Blue Star from the Cosmic Virus. The monsters grew weak under its effects, and guns and blades could pierce their once-impenetrable hides. We launched our counterattack."

Tony stared into the distance as he recounted that tragic "history."

"After a long year, humanity seemed to have won. We killed most of the monsters, but a few escaped Blue Star and hid in space. Even now, some are hiding on the far side of the moon."

"Wait. Where did you get that shielding technology?" Lin Yi interrupted.

That's the important part! How can he brush past it in one sentence?

Tony shot Lin Yi an annoyed look. After a moment's thought, though, he tapped his temple. "You might not believe me, but that technology appeared in my head out of nowhere."

...I really don't believe you.

"I don't know whether someone put it there deliberately or whether something else happened. But that's the truth."

"The technology was there in my memory. I didn't have the energy to hunt down its source. My job was to drive the monsters off Blue Star, wasn't it?"

Fine. Lin Yi could just about accept that explanation. He didn't really believe it, but he knew it wasn't the priority right now.

What mattered was getting that technology after Tony finished his "story." Whatever schemes might lie behind it, stabilizing the current situation came first.

"Don't interrupt me again. Where was I? Oh, right. The far side of the moon."

"They fled into space and hid on the far side of the moon."

"They're still powerful, and they've never given up on infecting Blue Star again."

"Every so often, they send a few monsters down to look for an opportunity to start new infections."

"Fortunately, the shielding device doesn't just block the Cosmic Virus. It weakens them too. As I said, it eventually leaves them extremely vulnerable."

"But it takes time. Weakening a monster from full strength to that state takes at least an hour, depending on the individual."

"So the kind of alien monster Morgan told you about still 'visits' Blue Star from time to time and causes chaos."

"Pepper... Well, I don't need to say it. You can probably guess. She died saving Morgan from one of those monsters."

"They haven't given up. They're still looking for their chance." Tony clenched his fists, his eyes reddening. He clearly had neither let go of his hatred nor abandoned his desire for revenge.

"Morgan said you trusted them..." Lin Yi spoke when Tony fell silent, sensing he had finished that part of the story.

Tony shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Children misunderstand adults sometimes. How could I possibly trust them?"

"I've never trusted them!"

Tony pointed at the "tin cans" and monsters on the screen, hatred in his voice.

It seemed Tony and Morgan didn't talk much.

Perhaps Tony's years of pursuing revenge and working to protect Blue Star, combined with Morgan's misunderstandings, had kept father and daughter from ever sitting down and speaking honestly.

But what exactly were those "tin cans"? Why did they look so familiar?

Lin Yi stared at them on the screen, lost in thought.

Their shape was a little like the original MK1 Iron Man Armor Tony had built in the cave, but their exteriors were smoother and bulkier, with intricate etched patterns across their surfaces.

They looked a little like...

Tony noticed Lin Yi's reaction. His eyes narrowed, his gaze turning sharp. "You know what these are?"