The Soul Stone secured, time to return

Tony spent some time making temporary changes to part of his armor's programming.

This allowed the Nano Gauntlet to exist independently of the reactor. Of course, its energy would have to come from the Infinity Stones.

With time so short, though, he had not perfected it. Lin Yi would have to withstand the stray bursts of energy, but fortunately, there were not many.

The three of them stood on the platform again in their Nano Time Suits. Clint was still holding the Benatar that Rocket had given him.

Lin Yi felt that neither of them needed to go, but they insisted, so he said no more.

Still, all three had agreed on the plan: Lin Yi would take the lead, knock Thanos unconscious, and finish things quickly.

"The time is set. You'll return in five seconds. Remember, get it done fast," Tony reminded them as he adjusted the navigation device.

Lin Yi nodded and exchanged a glance with Natasha and Clint. They pressed their activators together, and the platform immediately responded, beginning its countdown.

Nebula had supplied the specific time window, estimating when Thanos would head to Vormir to sacrifice Gamora. They were arriving a little earlier than that estimate, however.

Wait, Nebula?

Lin Yi abruptly looked up at Nebula, who stood at the very back.

Oh, crap. How had I almost forgotten? Nebula might already have been switched out for her past self.

He wanted to warn them, but the device had already activated. The three of them rapidly vanished from the platform.

Lin Yi was speechless for a moment, then let it go.

In the original story, Nebula from the 2014 timeline had been captured, allowing Thanos to learn about future events through her neural link and invade the present.

Why did I overlook that? I've used Super-Mind. There's no way I should have forgotten.

Could something be influencing me?

Forget it. It's not a big problem. They need me to bring back the last stone before they can perform the snap. I can just subdue Nebula as soon as I return.

Seeing the three disappear, Steve breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Tony and pressed his lips together, but ultimately said nothing more.

Naturally, he did not trust Lin Yi completely. He had given Lin Yi the stones because he trusted Stark.

He had originally wanted to keep one stone behind, but had abandoned the idea. After all, if Lin Yi had ulterior motives, the entire plan would collapse. One more stone or one less would no longer matter.

He might as well do as Tony had suggested and trust him this once.

Steve knew Tony's personality and methods well. If Tony was willing to take this "risk," he probably had information he had not shared with Steve.

In 2014, between Knowhere and Vormir, tiny ripples suddenly appeared near the planet.

A small spacecraft appeared without a sound, then vanished like a ghost less than a second later.

Inside the ship, Lin Yi had already shed his Nano Time Suits. The Reality Stone on his right hand shone exceptionally brightly.

"I've erased our presence to a certain extent. Thanos and his forces shouldn't be able to detect us."

"We still have an hour until the time F.R.I.D.A.Y. calculated. Do you two want to get some rest?"

With the Reality Stone concealing the ship, neither Thanos nor his fleet could detect it as they were now.

Lin Yi had also extended his Bio-field around the Benatar. He would sense any scans within a certain range.

Natasha and Clint declined to rest, staring fixedly out the window at the gray, lifeless planet of Vormir.

It was clear that both were nervous.

Seeing this, Lin Yi stopped trying to persuade them and closed his eyes to rest.

About an hour later, just as the two began wondering whether he had fallen asleep, Lin Yi's eyes snapped open.

"He's here."

Both jolted, immediately becoming alert as they stared out the window without blinking.

But they saw nothing.

Lin Yi was also watching through the window.

They couldn't see it, but that didn't mean Lin Yi's Super Vision couldn't.

A flash of blue light had just descended on Vormir. It was Thanos, who had teleported there with Gamora using the Space Stone.

Watching Thanos speak with Red Skull and lead Gamora to the edge of the cliff, Lin Yi knew it was time to act.

"Wait here. I'll be right back!"

Blue light flashed, and Lin Yi vanished from the ship. The two left behind, who had been about to say something, exchanged a speechless glance.

The Infinity Stones could sense one another when close together. Lin Yi had not forgotten that, and kept suppressing them to prevent any unusual gamma-ray emissions.

He appeared silently behind Thanos.

By then, Thanos had already pushed Gamora off the cliff. With her death, Thanos seemed to have entered something akin to an out-of-body state, standing there in a daze, completely unaware of anyone approaching from behind.

Red Skull, however, did notice Lin Yi's presence. Before he could make out his face, Lin Yi controlled him with the Mind Stone, leaving him in a vacant trance.

Lin Yi watched Thanos intently, waiting for the moment the Soul Stone appeared.

It might have been a second, or perhaps a minute, before Thanos's right hand suddenly tightened slightly.

He came back to his senses, raised his left hand, and opened it. A glimmer of orange light began to flicker.

There it is!

With that thought, Lin Yi instantly activated the Time Stone and the Mind Stone.

Hum!

Green energy surged out, freezing time at that instant. Pale yellow energy then struck Thanos.

Looking at the "frozen" scene, Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

His guess had been right. Thanos was not powerful enough to resist a surprise attack from the Infinity Stones. Lin Yi had even been prepared to put on a mask and fight him.

He stepped closer for a look. Sure enough, the orange Soul Stone lay in Thanos's left hand.

He took it straight out, but Lin Yi did not mount it on the gauntlet.

The energy released by bringing the Six Infinity Stones together was on an entirely different scale from that of five stones. There was no need to take that risk, and the snap would have to wait until he returned anyway.

Keeping the Time Stone active, Lin Yi activated the Space Stone to return to the Benatar.

At the instant he left, Lin Yi saw the tear at the corner of Thanos's eye.

That was a tear Thanos had shed for Gamora. He seemed to truly regard her as his daughter; otherwise, he could never have passed the Soul Stone's "sacrifice" test.

Back inside the spacecraft, Lin Yi redirected the Time Stone's power, allowing Natasha and Clint to move again.

"You got it?" Natasha immediately noticed the Soul Stone in Lin Yi's hand. She was so astonished that she did not know what to say. That had been... incredibly fast.

"Let's go. Back right now!" Lin Yi made the decision immediately. They had what they came for; it was time to leave before anything else could go wrong.

The three activated their Nano Time Suits and recorded the current point in time. They would have to return the stone later without Thanos noticing a thing.

Hum!

They shrank the ship, and their Nano Time Suits activated instantly. The three shrank to the absolute limit and entered the Quantum Realm once more.