Iron Man Goes Dark

"Tricked?"

Spider-Man froze in astonishment. He turned to stare at Mysterio in disbelief. Mysterio gave an awkward smile, raised his hands, and said, "We surrender, Iron Man. We’ll turn ourselves in at the police station."

As Mysterio spoke, the tavern began to change, shifting from a bustling establishment into a ruined wreck. Even more exaggeratedly, most of the patrons vanished outright, leaving only a handful of people staring at Iron Man in terror.

"What’s going on? Mr. Mysterio!" Spider-Man shouted in shock.

"The battle with the Elementals earlier, and this tavern, were all just special effects. A kind of special effect called ‘Second Structure.’"

"Iron Man said coldly, "Parker, they tricked you. They’re nothing but a bunch of losers."

"Losers?"

Spider-Man was even more stunned. Though Mysterio and the others were furious, they did not dare say anything. In truth, Iron Man was right—they really were a bunch of losers.

Spider-Man wore a bitter expression. Then, with relief, he said, "Mr. Stark, I let you down. It’s a good thing you came back. Otherwise, this would have become a huge disaster."

"The Mysterio matter isn’t that serious. At most, it destroys one district of London. In the end, you regain your Spider-Sense and defeat that fraud."

Iron Man shook his head. "But before that fraud dies, he reveals your identity to the public. Then, the entire world learns that Spider-Man is Peter Parker."

Spider-Man’s expression changed. "What?"

"To deal with that, you go to Dr. Strange and ask him to cast a spell that makes everyone forget your identity."

Iron Man continued, "Unfortunately, something goes wrong with the ritual. Villains from other universes descend on Earth. In the end, because you’re too much of a saint, one of those villains kills your Aunt May."

Spider-Man shouted in disbelief, "What? Aunt May gets killed?"

"Your actions don’t just cause Aunt May’s death. They also throw the multiverse into chaos, leaving Earth full of disasters."

"Ah?"

Spider-Man was completely dumbfounded. Mysterio blinked beside him. I’m that amazing? Spider-Man swallowed and asked, "Mr. Stark, how do you know about the future? And you can stop all this, right?"

"Yes. That’s why I came back. I’m going to stop all of it completely."

A dark glint flashed through Iron Man’s eyes. At that moment, a gaudily dressed woman suddenly appeared beside him and asked impatiently, "Are you still not done talking? Or can’t you bear to do it?"

Calling this woman gaudy was no exaggeration. Not only did she wear gemstone rings on all ten fingers, gemstone bracelets on both wrists, a gemstone necklace around her neck, and a gemstone belt around her waist, she even wore a gemstone crown on her head.

The gemstones came in every color and glowed as well. She looked as gaudy as gaudy could be.

"Loki!"

Spider-Man cried out, "You’re Loki from another universe, Thor’s fiancée!"

Loki’s face darkened. "I am not that fat bastard’s fiancée."

At that moment, Spider-Man recognized the gems on Loki’s body and asked incredulously, "Those are Infinity Stones?"

Mysterio glanced at them and said, "They have to be fakes. The Infinity Stones were destroyed long ago. Even if they weren’t, there couldn’t possibly be so many."

"You’re wrong about that. They’re all genuine, but they aren’t worth much. The people at the Bureau even use them as paperweights."

Loki laughed. "Does it feel like your worldview is collapsing? We fought so desperately over Infinity Stones, yet over there, they count them by the drawerful."

"I was so shocked at the time that I wanted to kill someone."

Iron Man nodded deeply in agreement. To be honest, the Infinity Stones had left him with anything but good memories.

"They’re all genuine? How is that possible?"

Spider-Man and Mysterio both cried out, while everyone else was shocked beyond measure.

"The world is vast. Nothing is impossible."

Iron Man shook his head. He pulled a rod from his waist and gave it a spin. Orange light lit up at its tip.

Then Iron Man looked at Spider-Man and said, "Kid, this isn’t what I want to do, but I have to."

Spider-Man asked in confusion, "Mr. Stark, what are you talking about?"

Iron Man said nothing more. He tapped Spider-Man’s chest with the tip of the rod, and Spider-Man’s body immediately began to disappear.

Spider-Man stared at Iron Man in utter disbelief, unable to understand why Iron Man was killing him. Didn’t he see him as a son?

"I’m doing this for the world," Iron Man said expressionlessly.

The next second, Spider-Man vanished completely. Mysterio and the others were shocked to the extreme. Mysterio’s expression changed, and he hurriedly fled outside.

Iron Man had even killed Spider-Man. There was no way he would spare him. If he did not run, he was dead for sure.

The problem was that running meant certain death as well. A conical blade pierced through Mysterio’s chest, lifting him high into the air before flinging him away.

Then the blade’s owner, a robot made of Vibranium, walked into the tavern. It first slaughtered everyone else inside before reporting to Iron Man, "Mr. Stark, the Iron Legion is ready."

"Good, Ultron. Once I finish making arrangements, I’ll take you to deal with those Super Heroes. Then we’ll use nuclear weapons and robots to threaten the world into surrendering."

Iron Man said, "What this world truly needs isn’t freedom. It’s order. I’m going to forge a new order for Earth."

"Yes, sir."

Ultron replied respectfully. That Vibranium robot was not Vision, but Ultron—the Ultron who had once wanted to destroy humanity.

Loki whistled and said, "Iron Man, you should have done this long ago. If you hadn’t stopped me back then, would there be so much of this nonsense?"

"You’re different from me. You want to enslave everyone, while I want to save everyone."

Iron Man glanced at Loki and held out his hand. "Give me the Six Infinity Stones."

"Fine. I have plenty of these things anyway."

Loki did not refuse. She tossed six gemstone rings to Iron Man and said, "Be careful. You’re only a mortal. Using those things is dangerous. In the original history, you died because of those stones."

"I was set up by that magician."

Iron Man snorted, then shook his head. "Too bad these stones can’t snap their fingers. Otherwise, this would be much easier."

These Infinity Stones came from Time Branches rather than the main timeline, so they were weaker than the originals. Moreover, even when all six were gathered, they could not be used to snap one’s fingers. They only retained their individual functions.

"If they could snap their fingers, I’d have become ruler of the universe long ago."

"Your ambitions are as shallow as ever."

Iron Man was thoroughly disdainful. He tapped his chest, and Nanoparticles flew out, assembling into a strange square device beside him. Then he removed the six stones and embedded them into the device.

"One more step. Unseal them."

Iron Man took out a Golden Triangle Cone from his clothes and aimed it at the six stones. All six stones lit up with dazzling radiance. Then, a massive amount of energy poured into the nanotech device, which activated at full power and absorbed all of it.

"That thing looks pretty good. Iron Man, you really are a genius second only to me."

Loki sighed. It was worth mentioning that all the stones on her body were sealed. Otherwise, she would have died long ago.

Iron Man could not be bothered with shameless Loki. He ordered the device, "Enter the Quantum Void. Use the stones’ power to seal off the entire universe. No one is allowed in, and no one is allowed out."

"Yes, sir."

A voice came from the device. Then, amid six-colored light, it disappeared as it entered the Quantum Void to seal the universe.

"That way, no one can interfere with us, especially that bastard called Blood God. I really don’t want to see him."

"Blood God is the guardian deity of your universe, while I am the guardian deity of this universe."

Iron Man shook his head. "Let’s go deal with those Super Heroes. It’s time for their curtain call."

Loki laughed excitedly. "Believe me, I’d be happy to do that. Leave that fat bastard to me."

At Kamar-Taj, Dr. Strange suddenly felt a wave of palpitations. After some thought, he cast a spell and used Vishanti to divine the reason behind them.

"Iron Man?"

Strange saw fragments of the future, and his expression changed drastically. He immediately cast another spell at top speed and shouted, "Vishanti, lend me your strength!"

Vishanti’s power descended at once. A phantom emerged from Strange’s body, forcibly crossing the universe to arrive before another version of himself—this spell not only borrowed Vishanti’s power, but also relied on a special treasure that could only be used once.

Just after Strange finished casting the spell, a layer of six-colored light blanketed the universe. Then Strange’s consciousness was cut off. He screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I hope the message made it through. I told you long ago that Iron Man was trouble."

Strange cursed, then called Wong over and said, "Notify everyone to evacuate. Leave Kamar-Taj."

The plump Wong asked in astonishment, "Leave Kamar-Taj? Strange, why?"

"Because if we don’t leave now, we’re as good as dead."

Strange shouted, "Don’t waste time. Leave with me immediately. I don’t want to see your corpse."

"Yes, Sorcerer Supreme."

Wong asked no more questions. He ran out and rang the alarm. Soon, everyone followed Strange out of Kamar-Taj—escaping was very easy for mages capable of teleportation, so long as they were willing to abandon their belongings.

Not long after Strange and the others evacuated, a group of robots stormed into Kamar-Taj. Kamar-Taj’s concealment magic had no effect on them whatsoever.

The leading robot was Ultron. After inspecting Kamar-Taj, it reported to Iron Man, "Mr. Stark, the mages of Kamar-Taj escaped in advance."

Iron Man cursed and said, "That magician ran fast. No matter. Return first. We’ll deal with the others."

"Understood."

Ultron and the others withdrew. Before leaving, they planted a large amount of explosives throughout Kamar-Taj. Once they departed, the explosives detonated with a thunderous roar.

The sacred magic ground of Kamar-Taj was reduced to rubble.

Elsewhere, on an ice field, Iron Man cut off the communication. Looking down below, he sneered, "You’ve lived in seclusion on Earth for thousands of years, yet you turn a blind eye to Earth’s crises. Trash like you has no value at all. Die."

In space, aboard the New Sanctuary, the elderly Thanos looked at the blue planet in the distance and said with disgust, "I’ve seen many Earths. This universe’s Earth is the most disgusting."

"Thanos, I am willing to destroy this planet for you."

Ebony Maw knelt on one knee and declared loudly. Besides him, the ship also carried the other members of the Black Order, Gamora, and Nebula.

These people were subordinates Thanos had conquered while traveling across universes. The selection method was simple: make them fight themselves one-on-one. Only the survivor earned the right to follow him.

In other words, all of them were the strongest among their counterparts. For example, Ebony Maw could easily kill five Ebony Maws from the Main Universe.

Moreover, every one of them was evil, including Gamora and Nebula.

"This universe has countless ties to the Main Universe. Don’t touch it for now, or we may alert the enemy. We will return to the Main Universe, kill Blood God, and fulfill destiny."

Thanos said coldly. The reason he had devoured versions of himself from other universes was to fulfill destiny—he himself was destiny.

To fulfill destiny, he first had to kill Blood God. Thanos was utterly confident he could do it, because he had already crossed that threshold and become one of the universe’s most powerful beings—he had left too early and did not know Wang Bert’s current strength.

"Yes, Thanos."

Everyone nodded. Then Thanos activated the New Sanctuary, preparing to cross universes—the New Sanctuary was a top-class battleship created by Thanos, combining technology and magic from many universes. Crossing universes was merely one of its functions.

"Death, I’m back. I won’t disappoint you again."

At the thought of Death, even Thanos felt somewhat excited. The New Sanctuary then activated, becoming a streak of light that transcended space and time as it crossed the universe.

But unexpectedly, the New Sanctuary was blocked by a Six-Colored Barrier and could not leave this universe.

That was right—the New Sanctuary had been stopped by a barrier. Thanos tried several methods in succession, but none could break through it. He frowned and went outside to inspect the situation himself. Then he froze. "It’s actually the power of the Infinity Stones?"

"Weren’t this universe’s Infinity Stones destroyed by another version of me?"

After thinking for a moment, Thanos piloted the New Sanctuary back into the universe. Then he ordered coldly, "Go to Earth and find out exactly what is happening. No one can stop me from returning to the Main Universe. No one."

"Yes, Thanos."

Everyone nodded first. Then Gamora asked, "Father, why are you so certain this has something to do with Earth?"

"Because Earthlings are a bunch of oddballs. Besides, Blood God once said that Earth is the center of the universe."

Thanos said, "Be careful. Don’t let the Avengers notice anything. No one can know I’ve returned yet. I want to catch Blood God off guard."

Although Thanos was confident that his strength far surpassed Blood God’s, he still did not dare let down his guard. After all, that was Blood God—the Blood God who had created countless miracles.

"Yes."

Everyone nodded. Then the Black Order, Gamora, and the others piloted small spacecraft toward Earth.