"Failed, failed, failed, failed, failed, failed, failed..."
"We failed!"
"The ti-space we traveled to didn't have Kyle!"
...
In the year 2020, or perhaps in the correct Marvel universe.
Earth, New York, New Avengers HQ.
A group of heroes, clad in upgraded Ant-Man suits emblazoned with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia, stood on a futuristic-looking equipnt platform.
Among them were:
Iron Man, Tony Stark, one of the Avengers' leaders.
Rhodey, Colonel Rhodes, wearing an older Iron Man armor.
Thor, his physique softened by a noticeable beer belly.
Ant-Man, Scott Lang, looking almost unchanged.
Spider-Man, Peter Parker looked a bit more mature.
Hulk, Bruce Banner, is now a curious hybrid of man and Hulk.
Hawkeye, Clint Barton, his temples touched with gray.
Quicksilver, Pietro, appearing more mature and composed.
Wanda, the Scarlet Witch, looked as slender and graceful as ever.
This was the core group for the 'Reversal of the Present' plan. Other powerful heroes like Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel were tied up with the aftermath of the battle between Kyle and Thanos and couldn't join in ti.
Lucy and the rest of the Carl nation were completely unaware of the Avengers' plan.
There simply weren't enough Pym Particles for Ant-Man to transport a large group back in ti. The Avengers also worried that the Carl Family, obsessed with Kyle, might take drastic asures if they knew they could see him again.
The older Avengers had agreed that once the plan succeeded, Wanda and Quicksilver would inform the Carl nation.
But...
They failed.
Their last, desperate hope had shattered.
The heroes who returned from the past tilines exchanged silent, somber glances, their faces etched with disappointnt, sorrow, and confusion.
...
Their plan had been ticulously detailed.
Using the remaining Pym Particles and their enhanced suits, they would shrink into subspace and travel back to the ti before the battle between Thanos and Kyle.
The objective was clear:
Return to the past, collect the Infinity Stones, and use an artificial Infinity Gauntlet to perform the finger snap, harnessing its cosmic power to bring back Kyle, who had died, and half of humanity scattered across the universe.
This was their surface-level mission; only by gathering the power of the Infinity Stones could they hope to reverse the current tiline.
However, secretly, each hero, especially those deeply connected to Kyle like Tony and Wanda, harbored a silent hope – to see Kyle one last ti, even if it was the Kyle from the past.
Furthermore,
The past Kyle already possessed several Infinity Stones early on, making finding him the top priority.
But, but!
The Avengers split into groups, traveled to three key points in ti: 2008, 2010, and 2012. Yet they found no trace of Kyle!
"Why, why, why!" Tony exclaid, frowning deeply, his gaze sweeping across the others on the ti-travel platform. "Why couldn't we find the godfather in the past? Is this a ti-space anomaly?!"
"Mr. Stark," Spider-Man took a deep breath. "Could it be that you rembered the timing incorrectly?"
"Impossible!" Tony shook his head vehently. "I rember it vividly. I could never be mistaken. The godfather returned to Earth in 2008, the sa year I was attacked by terrorists. I recall him driving a car, even extorting after my narrow escape."
"Even if the timing was off, it shouldn't be like this," Wanda, who had just returned from the 2010 tiline, added. "I couldn't find Kyle in 2010's New York, and I couldn't even find Raina! None of the Carl Family or the Carl Nation knew anything about them."
"I t with the Ancient One from the past," Banner, who had traveled to the 2012 tiline, scratched his head in bewildernt. "I inquired about Kyle, and she had no idea! It wasn't as if she was deliberately concealing information, but in her knowledge, there was no such person as Kyle. History since World War II in that tiline made no ntion of Kyle!"
Quicksilver couldn't help but exclaim, "This is too strange. It's as if Kyle never existed in any tiline except ours! Not even in the past!!"
Nebula remained silent, observing the scene. She knew that Thanos still existed in the past tilines, yet the strongest man, Kyle, was nowhere to be found on Earth.
They didn't know.
After the final battle with Thanos, when Kyle rged with the power of the Infinity Stones and beca the sole existence, no tiline – past, future, or parallel – would ever contain Kyle again.
What would those Marvel universes be like without Kyle?
They would be the "original" universes.
Kyle, a being from across dinsions, drastically altered the Marvel universes, starting with World War II.
In contrast, the past Marvel universes, untouched by Kyle's influence, remained true to the original tiline.
Hence, they couldn't find Kyle.
People and events closely linked to him, such as the Carl Family, the Symbol of Peace, Logan, Raina, Lucy, Princess Sakura... naturally, none of them existed in the past tilines either.
Tony quickly regained his composure, his voice firm. "Regardless, even though we didn't find the past Kyle, we did collect the Infinity Stones."
"Yes, and we lost Natasha for the Soul Stone from the past," Clint said with a bitter smile. His words cast a pall of silence over the group, each person clenching their fists.
This ti, they had truly failed.
They not only failed to find Kyle in the past tilines, but they also lost Natasha. And more importantly –
They hadn't collected all six Infinity Stones!
The primary reason remained Kyle.
In the Marvel tilines without Kyle, the locations of the Infinity Stones had been altered by various factors, making it incredibly difficult for the heroes to collect them in the past. So teams even spent over half a month before finally securing their targeted Stones.
Even so, they only managed to collect five Infinity Stones.
The missing stone was the Space Stone!
Yes, the Space Stone!
In the Avengers' minds, this stone had always been with Kyle. They believed they simply needed to find him to retrieve it. But now, with no sign of him, the Space Stone remained out of reach.
Without the Space Stone, they couldn't execute the finger snap that would reverse the universe.
"By the way, Mr. Stark," Spider-Man broke the silence, his gaze fixed on Tony. "You ntioned Captain Steve didn't return with you. Instead, he used the Pym Particles intended for the return trip to jump to an even earlier tiline?"
"That's correct," Tony nodded. "We couldn't find the godfather in 2008, and we couldn't locate the Space Stone either. So, Steve decided to go back to the World War II era, attempting to find Kyle or obtain the Space Stone there. Then, he would acquire more Pym Particles from the S.H.I.E.L.D. research site and return to the present."
"It seems we'll have to place our hopes on Captain. Hopefully, he'll succeed!" Spider-Man said solemnly, echoing the thoughts of everyone present.
Among them, only Nebula remained completely calm, a faint, chilling glint flickering in her eyes.
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