Confirming the Plan

To be fair, of the Avengers' two biggest proud-and-stubborn types, Thor was clearly the amateur.

Lin Yi's data made the plan feasible, but the risk remained high.

"Should we call Carol back and talk it over?" Natasha suggested.

Steve looked at Rocket. Rocket fiddled with his communicator, then shook his head. "Can't reach her. Carol cut off two-way communication a week ago. We can only receive messages from her now, and the last one came a week ago."

"But we can leave her a message. No telling when she'll see it, though. Want me to send one?"

Steve thought for a moment, then nodded. "Send it. But we can't wait. Rocket, keep trying to reach Carol."

"Tony, let's see if any other plans could work."

The room erupted in discussion.

Bored, Lin Yi found a chair away from the noisy group. They're dragging this out.

As far as he was concerned, he could simply take the Mind Stone and strike Thanos just as he obtained the Soul Stone. By the time Thanos noticed, Lin Yi would have used the Stone and returned.

No—Thanos would never even notice the instant it had been "missing."

As for Captain Marvel—Carol—her powers came from the Space Stone, at least according to the movies. She could fly faster than light and attack with energy.

In theory, she had plenty of time and opportunities to stop Thanos. The movie version of Thanos, with fewer than all six Infinity Stones, probably couldn't hold out against her for long.

Before Lin Yi crossed over, people had argued endlessly about their relative strength. He thought it all came down to concessions made for the plot.

What they could actually do remained to be seen. Lin Yi would have to face Thanos himself to find out.

"Hey, um... Lin Yi. Were those numbers real?" Thor came over, his round belly leading the way, looking a little awkward.

He was intensely curious about Lin Yi's physical strength. The discussion demanded more brainpower than he could contribute, so he had come over to show some goodwill and ease the tension between them.

Lin Yi knew Thor's personality and had never truly been angry. Otherwise, he would have punched him long ago.

"More or less. Those figures are two years old."

Even two years ago, Lin Yi hadn't gone all out during testing. And the figures Tony had shown weren't even his best results from back then.

Thor sucked in a sharp breath.

He had seen Carol fight, but those physical stats alone seemed to put Lin Yi ahead of her.

What Thor didn't know was that neither the strength Carol had shown him nor Lin Yi's numbers came close to their limits.

After a couple of awkward exchanges, silence settled between them again.

Lin Yi watched the others continue to argue and grew impatient. He wondered whether to loosen the restraints on his Super-Mind and see if he could devise a better plan.

His Super-Mind was under restraints he had placed on it himself.

It was a double-edged sword. Thinking too deeply would cause his mind to keep evolving and ascending, and in the process he would gradually lose the joys and sorrows that made him human.

Worse, his human values would gradually shift toward a cosmic perspective as the Super-Mind kept running. At that point, he might lose more than the pleasures of being human. He might even reason his way to believing that destroying humanity was the best way to protect it.

The logic might sound contradictory to an ordinary person, but the conclusions an unchecked Super-Mind could reach would be far worse. That was why Lin Yi rarely relied on it too heavily. He didn't want to become dependent on it.

He suspected Superman in the movies he'd watched had done something similar. Otherwise, some of his particularly "brilliant" decisions were hard to explain.

"Bunch of idiots. Afraid of this, afraid of that. They might as well go home, climb into their strollers, and drink milk." Rocket came over too, muttering his complaint.

"I think your plan's good. If they won't agree, I'll take you there myself." Rocket patted Lin Yi's thigh. He had roamed all over the universe and seen plenty. He knew how much strength mattered, so he favored solving problems with force.

Of course, he considered his clever brain one of his strengths too!

An hour and a half later, with everyone still arguing over the approach, Lin Yi finally stood up.

"Enough. You won't get anywhere arguing like this. I've given you a plan. If you don't like it, why not carry out the rest of your plan first and collect the Infinity Stones other than the Soul Stone?"

Steve fell silent. Tony spread his hands helplessly toward Lin Yi.

"Maybe everything you've been through has cost you the boldness the Avengers once had. But I know you just want a safer plan. Maybe you can't bear another failure."

"But nothing ever goes perfectly. Get the other Stones first."

As an outsider, Lin Yi could see exactly what they were struggling with.

Steve stared at Lin Yi's young face. It was calm and full of confidence.

It reminded him of the conviction that had stirred everyone when the Avengers first came together.

Perhaps Lin Yi was right. After everything they had been through, they really had lost some of their nerve.

"Stop hesitating. If all else fails, sacrifice me. You can snap your fingers and bring me back afterward." Natasha winked, her tone light.

Steve had thought of that too. But the idea of having to sacrifice a teammate made him deeply uncomfortable...

"That won't work," Lin Yi said.

Natasha met his eyes but said nothing.

Lin Yi pressed his lips together, then explained, "A soul sacrificed to the Soul Stone can't be brought back by a snap with all six Infinity Stones."

"If you're sacrificed, you're gone forever. There's no way to bring you back... at least, not yet." Lin Yi didn't make the claim absolute. He had a few ideas, but he couldn't let someone be sacrificed just to test them. If they failed, the result would be disastrous.

Lin Yi's explanation closed off another escape route. Now the only option left seemed to be the plan he had proposed...

A long silence followed.

"All right. I... agree. Let's get the other Stones first," Steve conceded.

"I think that's the best approach too. But..." Tony paused. "There's another problem. We don't have enough Pym Particles..."

"If Lin Yi joins us, we'll be one vial short. So who wants to sit this out?"

Given Lin Yi's physical abilities, he was the last person they should leave behind.

Under the current plan, Natasha or Clint would be the best choice to stay. Even if both stayed, it wouldn't make much difference. Lin Yi was the key to the second plan.

Everyone present was sharp. Natasha and Clint understood Tony's unspoken implication.

"How about... I stay behind?"

Before either could speak, Scott Lang beat them to it.

He rubbed his nose awkwardly. He had accidentally wasted a vial of Pym Particles during an earlier test.

"Don't waste time. If your plan goes smoothly, you'll have extra Pym Particles. For now, stick to the original plan." Lin Yi was being deliberately cryptic. A little mystery, once proven true, would leave a stronger impression on the others. Of course, he also wanted to show off a bit.

Tony frowned. "Where would these extra Pym Particles come from?"

"If there aren't any, you can decide who stays behind then. Right now, the important thing is to get moving."

"I'll wait here with Natasha and Clint until you get back. Any objections?" He directed the last question at the two of them.

The Avengers exchanged glances. No one had any further objections.

Lin Yi let out a breath. At last, they were past all that dithering.

The plan went ahead, with only a minor adjustment.

If events followed the movie's plot, a small mishap would force Tony to risk traveling further back in time to get the Space Stone. That was where they would obtain more Pym Particles.

Of course, it didn't matter whether events played out exactly the same way. If need be, Natasha and Clint could stay behind. Their presence on the trip wouldn't make much difference anyway.