A Body Beyond Belief

Nebula stepped forward and studied Lin Yi with a cold, peculiar look, seemingly astonished by the Blue Star native's fanciful proposal.

"You don't understand how powerful Thanos is. Even with the Infinity Stones, a human like you would be no match for him."

Her voice was steady and calm, but the truth she spoke was brutal.

Thor agreed. "That's right, kid. You can't handle Thanos. And you want to bring him the Stones? Trying to help him collect all six early so he can snap his fingers sooner? You'd better stay at the base and drink your beer."

"Though I think the plan could work if I went. One swing of my axe, and I'd bring back all the Infinity Stones! Right, little buddy?" With Stormbreaker in one hand, Thor reached out with the other to rub Rocket's head. The two of them had fought side by side.

"You've had too much to drink!" Rocket swatted Thor's paw away in disgust.

"That won't work. Facing Thanos is too dangerous. We need a new plan." Steve finally stepped forward and cut off the discussion.

He saw no chance of Lin Yi's proposal working. Thor had a point: if Lin Yi took the Stones to Thanos, he might only help Thanos collect all six Infinity Stones ahead of time.

They were only going to "borrow" the Infinity Stones from parallel universes at different points in time, then return each one to the moment it had been taken. They could not afford to take unnecessary risks.

"Tony, move the time-jump destination forward by a day," Steve decided. When no answer came, he noticed Tony standing there with furrowed brows, lost in thought...

"Tony? Tony! What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking." Tony finally came back to himself, though his brow remained tightly furrowed.

A thought struck Steve. "Did you come up with a better plan?"

Tony murmured an acknowledgment and finally looked at Steve. Then he said something startling. "I was thinking Lin's second plan might have a pretty good chance of success..."

"What?"

Startled gazes converged on Tony. Rocket darted to his side and stared at him as though he'd lost his mind.

"Is the pressure getting to you? Have you gone crazy?"

Thor planted his axe on the floor and clicked his tongue. He said nothing, but his look made it clear he thought Tony had gone mad along with Lin Yi.

Steve frowned too, his questioning look speaking for itself.

"It's only natural that you don't know much about Lin Yi. He may look young, but his abilities are..."

Powerful? Or downright monstrous?

Tony paused, unable to find the right word. "Put it this way. If he'd been there five years ago, on Titan or during the final battle here..."

"Things might have ended very differently..." Tony spoke softly, with a trace of wistful regret.

Ever since he'd seen Lin Yi's physical data, Tony had wondered more than once what would have happened if Lin Yi had been there. He had even built data models to test it. But it was too late for any of that.

Steve caught the crucial point, disbelief in his eyes. "You're saying Lin had enough power to change the outcome of those battles?"

It sounded incredible, yet Steve could believe it. When he had shaken Lin Yi's hand earlier, he had sensed there was more to him than met the eye.

But hearing Tony say it aloud suggested Lin Yi was far stronger than Steve had imagined.

As the others murmured and looked on skeptically, Tony turned to Lin Yi. "Is it okay?"

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding what Tony was asking. He nodded.

Tony let out a breath, tapped his glasses, and gave F.R.I.D.A.Y. an order. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., pull up some of the non-core physical data collected while Lin Yi was wearing the Mark 50. Set access authorization to G1, limited to the people in this room."

With a swish, two small spherical nano-projectors sprang from the sides of his glasses.

A virtual screen appeared before them, displaying a stream of Lin Yi's outrageous data and simulated images.

There were estimates of skin capable of withstanding a direct hit from a flagship's main cannon without damage; records of instantaneous acceleration far beyond conventional physical limits; strength enough to lift a Helicarrier with one hand; and energy reactions and force-field data that defied analysis.

Below that were data models for the battles against Thanos on Titan and Blue Star. With Lin Yi added as a variable, their probability of victory rose from 3.78% to 61.3%.

"And if we add the Infinity Stones..." Tony reached out and pinched the screen lightly. Images of the six Infinity Stones appeared.

Tony placed the images into Lin Yi's physical data one by one. By the third Stone, the probability of victory was already approaching 100%...

The only reason it wasn't 100% was to keep the estimate rigorous. There was no accounting for every unknown variable.

That hardly mattered. The data had left everyone stunned into silence.

Banner stared blankly at the figures. Rhodey's mouth hung open as his gaze darted between Lin Yi and the screen. Even Thor stared fixedly at Lin Yi. The others were no different: they looked at him as though he were a monster.

Was he some stronger version of Captain Marvel?

Thor recovered and picked up his axe again.

"No. I can't believe this. If all this data is real, where were you five years ago?"

With physical abilities like that, it made no sense that Lin Yi, who was plainly human, hadn't appeared in the war five years earlier.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"We're not getting into that, Mr. Lebowski!" Tony's expression changed, and he hurried to stop Thor.

Lin Yi had never explained where he came from. Tony had his suspicions, but he wasn't about to pry. If Lin Yi chose not to say, it was his secret.

As it happened, most of Tony's suspicions were wrong.

Still, Thor's question came across as shifting blame onto Lin Yi, and it was offensive.

Lin Yi wasn't that sensitive, though. He merely gave a knowing smile. "I wasn't on Blue Star five years ago. If you think the data's fake, want to fight and find out?"

Thor showed no fear. He flourished his axe. "Sure. Right now."

Rocket grabbed Thor in disbelief. "Are you serious? He looks strong enough to take your axe and beat you senseless with it!"

But the fight was never going to happen. Steve stepped forward at once and stopped them both.

Tony wouldn't falsify the data, and Thor believed most of it himself. He had regretted his words almost as soon as they left his mouth.

He knew he had put unfair moral pressure on Lin Yi. But he had already said it, and apologizing wasn't his style. If they did fight, he could always hold back and take a few extra punches to let Lin Yi vent.