dhibooks Chapter 324 That Won't Do
Chapter 324 That Won't Do
Chapter 324 That Won't Do
Amidst the doubts of both Joey and Tony, Batman was the first to grasp the key point:
"This doesn't feel like predicting the future; it's more like—recalling."
Everything was normal when Batman was talking about other things, but when Joey made a mistake, Tony, with his argumentative personality, would dredge up the next sentence from his hazy memory and interrupt him on the spot.
For Batman, Iron Man's symptoms are less about future vision and more about the latter believing that these things have already happened once before.
Just as Beethoven had a few more musical scores, Tony also had some memories that he shouldn't have had in advance.
Just like the "Moonlight Sonata" we just discussed, it doesn't matter who the author of "Moonlight Sonata" is; what matters is that "Moonlight Sonata" already existed.
Therefore, the only medium that could bring "Moonlight" from the future back to the past is Doctor Doom.
"Something's not right!" After Batman voiced his guess, Joey immediately grabbed Tony by the throat through his Iron Man suit without saying a word.
"Your soul was just extracted by Doctor Doom, and two people from different times, the same person, came into contact with each other. You haven't been possessed, have you?! Let me see!"
Tony, who was being held captive by the strongman, knew that Joey was having another episode; he couldn't stand not to torment him a bit. He easily broke free and even delivered a powerful elbow strike to Joey.
"If I were really him, I'd blast you straight to hell!"
While the three were discussing and fooling around, the cyborg Tony was working hard, contributing his meager resources—which he had lost after being ruined by Doctor Doom—to build a portal for them to return.
As for the paradoxes of time, he no longer wanted to consider them. The mere act of Wolverine assassinating Ant-Man from the past had brought about such a dramatic change in his world. It was best to avoid getting involved in these dangerous paradoxes.
Trans-temporal teleportation technology isn't actually that difficult, especially for someone like Tony Stark; all they need is someone to point them in the right direction.
"That's about it, you can come over now! By the way, the stuff I make is definitely much more reliable than what Tony of yours does!"
The cyborg Iron Man, having created the instrument, didn't forget to take the opportunity to suppress his parallel universe counterpart. In his view, inter-universe teleportation was an incredibly precise matter, one was one, and two was two, so how could accidents happen so often?
"Thank you for your kind words."
Joey remained noncommittal about the whole thing stemming from an accidental teleportation to a parallel universe, but Tony couldn't stand hearing that.
"You have no idea how complex parallel universes are! Nobody understands them better than me!"
The spacetime chaos caused by the Age of Ultron not only split into a massive number of parallel universes, but each of these parallel universes was also intertwined with each other, making it extremely difficult to travel between them.
Just as even the sturdiest ship can capsize in the raging sea, even the most reliable equipment will eventually malfunction in extremely harsh environments. This is never a matter of technical skill.
"It's not that difficult!"
The cyborg Tony tapped on the control panel, projecting the cosmic grid he had constructed, where each universe appeared orderly and systematic:
"Let's see—now let's see how you keep up your stubbornness!"
When it comes to technology, even though Tony is his savior, the cyborg Iron Man doesn't give him any face.
In his view, Tony was clearly using the entanglement of a massive number of parallel universes to excuse his inferior technical level. What a mess of parallel universes, how come he didn't see it?
"Let me tell you..."
Tony, who had rattled off seven or eight reasons in an instant, leaned closer to take a look, and then could only manage one sentence: "Huh?"
If the other Iron Man's calculations are correct, the arrangement of countless parallel universes has become orderly, no longer the chaotic mess that occurred after Ultron's appearance.
Are you sure your equipment is working properly?
This isn't Tony being stubborn; it's just that what he's seeing now isn't quite right.
Such a neat and orderly arrangement of spacetime structures has reached a level that can be described as beautiful.
If it were a vast net, it would be the dream net of every multiverse traveler.
"It's not that orderly either." The cyborg Iron Man pointed to the dots of light in the center of the screen; each dot represented a detectable parallel universe.
"This is where we are, this is my universe."
Then, pointing to another distant point of light, he said, "Judging from the location signal, this is your universe, but..."
As the screen zoomed out, the three of them noticed that, unlike the other neatly arranged dots of light, this dot representing Tony's universe was placed alone at the edge, surrounded by a particularly empty space.
If the 'distance' between other universes is '1', then the 'distance' between Tony's universe and the surrounding parallel universes must be about '10'.
"Don't you find this strange?"
The people present turned their gazes to Tony. If anyone could possibly know the reason why all this happened, it would only be him, the predecessor of "Doctor Doom".
But the latter simply shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, I don't know either!"
His memories flooded back inexplicably and incoherently; he couldn't make any sense of them at all.
"Could someone please tell me who this Hu Yanbin I just mentioned is?"
Unable to find out the reason, the cyborg Tony could only console himself and others with this thought for now:
"Perhaps it is because of Ultron's demise and the disappearance of that guy that everything that was torn apart by Wolverine's time travel has returned to normal, and our universe is going to get better."
Looking at the neatly arranged parallel universes, Batman and Joey both silently frowned.
On the surface, it seems that, as the cyborg Iron Man said, after Ultron and Doctor Doom were dealt with, the parallel universes returned to their former order, becoming orderly and peaceful.
But these two best partners from the Dark Multiverse across the Phantom Space, seeing such a good result, felt their right eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
If such a good thing really happened, why would it happen to them?
Now that everything has come to an end, the two exchanged a glance and, not wanting to spoil the mood, decided to go back first and then discuss the matter further.
"Leave Spider-Man here."
Before stepping into the portal, Batman didn't forget to assign his men to the cyborg Tony:
"Your world needs a green light right now, and since time and space are normal, he should be able to communicate through the spider web. In case of any unexpected events, he can summon us at any time."
"Thanks."
To be honest, if the cyborg Iron Man had a choice, he definitely wouldn't let people from other parallel universes interfere with the security affairs of his own Earth. Unfortunately, the current situation doesn't allow him to do so.
Although Doctor Doom did not bring about the destruction of the world as he wished, the blow to the Guardians was truly devastating.
They haven't taken stock of the casualties yet, but losing two Sorcerers in one day is already devastating.
At least the one left is the beloved Spider-Man. If you still refuse that, then you're really just a turtle without a shell to prop up a table leg—you're just stubbornly clinging to your position.
"We certainly welcome all assistance."
After Joey and Batman stepped into the portal, the cyborg Iron Man suddenly reached out and grabbed Tony, who seemed nonchalant after the crisis, and whispered in his ear:
"I don't know who this Superman is, but you're lucky. Do you remember what I told you before I died?"
The cyborg Iron Man pointed to his mechanical body, which had hardly any intact flesh, and showed Tony just how treacherous the world could be:
"The similarities between our two universes are extremely high. In my universe, Thor is dead, and Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Professor X, and Black Panther have almost all turned against me. This universe is terrible!"
Tony recalled the incredible feats Doctor Strange had recounted to him, thinking that it was already a miracle they hadn't killed him, only turned against him. The cyborg Iron Man, looking at his fully functional, yet still morally ambiguous, counterpart, was filled with envy, even a touch of jealousy.
"In our two universes, Superman's existence is practically the only variable. Do you understand what I mean? Cherish this opportunity, become a better Iron Man, and don't follow in my footsteps!"
Some things can only be understood by experiencing them firsthand. Many of the things Tony did in this other evil version of Tony's eyes were extremely abstract, but in the eyes of the person involved, they were just necessary actions under the circumstances at that time, or even necessary evils.
Faced with the admonition from his other self, Tony, who had experienced almost nothing, could only nod blankly and say, "Okay—..—"
Stepping through the portal back into his own universe, Tony was still wondering what his other, evil self meant by "be a better Iron Man."
Standing to the side, Joey, with his still-powerful teeth capable of penetrating even the most formidable alien defenses, offered two timely suggestions:
"Perhaps you could give up some low-level interests first, such as going to Hollywood less often, and take some time to recuperate."
For example, regarding breaking the bad habit of excessive drinking, start not drinking today.
puff!
Before Joey could finish speaking, a cork from a Romanée-Conti wine bottle nearly popped into his face.
Immediately afterwards, Tony let out a strange yell: "Whoosh!"
"Jarvis, the crisis's over! Quickly call all the Hollywood stars, it's party time now!"
In Tony's worldview, being a better Iron Man is certainly not a problem, but not being dissolute and abstaining from alcohol?
That won't do.