"Damn it, Tony, not now!
There are too many onlookers; we need to hide!"
Captain America shouted through the earpiece under his helmet as they fled.
After a moment of silence, Banner was the first to suggest,
"According to the plan, I should go to Doctor Strange to find the Time Stone, so let's all head to Strange's place!
He can see the future, so maybe we can communicate well!
Most importantly, his Sanctum is very hidden!"
"Right, let's go to Strange's place. What's his address?"
Cap asked, and Iron Man immediately replied,
"177A Bleecker Street. Let's move!"
With a target in mind, the four dashed toward Bleecker Street.
Only Ant-Man, while running, asked in confusion,
"Damn, do we really have to run on foot? Why not just grab a car?"
As soon as he spoke, even though they were still fleeing, the others couldn't help but give Ant-Man a collective side-eye.
"How do you think we could just steal a car, Scott?"
Cap asked as he ran, but Ant-Man didn't understand Cap's reasoning. He simply replied,
"We're saving the world, for Christ's sake! A car could save us a lot of time!"
After he spoke, Cap shook his head and explained to Scott,
"Yes, we're saving the world, but even so, we have no right to ruin someone else's life!"
As soon as he finished, Iron Man immediately retorted sarcastically,
"Look at Captain America, always spouting utopian nonsense.
Just like when I proposed equipping the world with Iron Man suits, and suggested we shouldn't be passive Avengers but take the initiative to strike!
I also suggested we couldn't be too loose; we needed to restrict the heroes' freedom to arm them, making them stronger!
Even if he could do any of those things, we might not have lost to that damn Thanos!
I swear, I love this big-butted Mother Mary, Sam-a-lay-bian!"
"Hey, Tony, don't say that!"
Banner interrupted Iron Man, annoyed.
"I understand how you feel, Tony. I'm just as confused right now!
We each only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip, so if we make a mistake, we'll lose our chance to fix it!
But no matter what, we need to stick together, at least this time!"
Saying that, Banner didn't care what the others thought. He spread his arms and hugged everyone.
"You little slowpokes are too slow. I'll carry you!!!"
"Damn it, keep Mother Mary's face away from me!"
Tony shouted weakly, but Banner didn't care. He lifted the three and leaped, instantly covering three to four hundred meters.
After just a few jumps, 177A Bleecker Street came into view.
Thud!
Banner landed heavily on the roof of the Ancient One's house, causing her, who was reading in the study, to frown.
She glanced at the ceiling, sighed helplessly, and placed the newly published Dark Magic Interpretation 2008 Revised Edition on the table.
On the other side, Banner set down Cap and the others. Using the height advantage, they saw the bustling construction scene in Central Park in the distance.
Feeling the atmosphere was a bit cold, Banner thought for a moment and laughed,
"Wow, Central Park here has an extra statue, Tony. At least this one isn't of you, haha!"
"Whatever, I'm more concerned about the state of this world!"
Tony replied, frowning.
"You guys go find Strange. I need to connect to the internet and figure out what's going on in this world!"
"Right!" Cap nodded. "You figure out the changes quickly. I'll knock on the door!"
As he spoke, he approached the attic door of the building and raised his hand to knock.
But before he could, a calm female voice came from the distance,
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that. It would be very dangerous for you.
Also, I just waxed my roof. Watch your step!"
As the voice fell, everyone, including Tony, who was researching, turned to look in the direction of the sound!
The Ancient One was standing beside the morning glories she had planted, smiling at the four.
"I see curiosity in your eyes, so you're not here for me. Who do you want to see?"
As she spoke, the Hulk lowered his head and thought for a moment.
After a while, he grumpily stretched his joints, walked toward the Ancient One, and said,
"We want to see Doctor Strange!"
"Oh!"
The Ancient One nodded in understanding, and the group was momentarily delighted.
But then she shook her head.
"If you're looking for Strange, you're five years too early!"
She pointed her right hand toward Queens in the distance and continued,
"He's currently performing surgery at a hospital on 22nd Street!"
…
The entire group fell into silence. Iron Man and the others exchanged glances.
After a long pause, Iron Man helplessly shook his head.
"Well, that jerk never told us about this. I thought he'd been a sorcerer for a long time!"
"He's the one among us who loves playing with time the most and is the best at it.
So you might not be wrong. Even if it's only been a few years, he's already accumulated millennia in the timeline, so when you look at him, you naturally think he's much older," the Ancient One explained with a smile.
Hearing this, Iron Man pondered for a moment and said,
"You?
You mean you're also the Sorcerer Supreme?"
"Correct. It's nice to meet you. I am the current Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One."
"Hah, if I were you, I wouldn't be happy about it, because our arrival means Earth's future is doomed!"
Iron Man steered the conversation back to the main topic. As he spoke, he walked toward the Ancient One.
"I don't know if you've seen it, but our future isn't so bright. To save the future world, I need the Time Stone around your neck!"
"Hmm?"
The Ancient One frowned, raised her right hand to signal Iron Man to stop, and coldly said,
"Sorry, that's your future, not ours.