Three Worlds

Seeing Dr. Pym getting angry, Dr. Foss laughed. "Scott, you’ve got guts. Knowing you’d have a father-in-law like that, you still dared to pursue Hope."

Scott sighed. "What choice did I have? I like Hope that much."

"Shut up."

Dr. Pym snapped, "Bill, what did you say?"

Dr. Foss sneered. "Was I wrong? Other than your daughter, who could stand that rotten temper of yours? S.W.O.R.D. has been far too merciful with you. If it were up to me, I’d have thrown you straight into prison."

Seeing the two were about to start arguing, Dr. Banner tried to smooth things over. "All right, all right, stop fighting. Today is important for both of you. One of you is saving his wife, and the other is saving his daughter."

"I’m not his daughter."

Ghost was somewhat displeased, and her body flickered. Dr. Banner stared at Dr. Foss in surprise. The old man sure knew how to have fun.

Dr. Foss was a little embarrassed. Turning to Tony and Dr. Richards, he asked, "How did the inspection go? That bastard Pym never does anything reliably. There’s an eighty percent chance something will go wrong."

"When I do something, I’m far more reliable than anyone from the Richards or Stark families."

Dr. Pym snorted. He knew Tony and Reed’s fathers and had even worked with them before. After all, they had all been America’s top geniuses.

Dr. Banner was a little speechless. He had never expected anyone’s mouth to be nastier than Tony Stark’s.

"Dr. Pym, it’s a miracle you’ve survived this long."

Tony snorted. "We checked it. There are basically no problems. Reed, Jarvis, how about your side?"

Dr. Richards nodded. "No problems. There shouldn’t be any mishaps."

"According to the calculations, there are no issues."

Jarvis’s voice sounded from the speakers. Its main body was not here, but its program was.

Dr. Banner said, "That’s good, Dr. Pym. Get ready to begin."

"Fine."

Dr. Pym put on his helmet excitedly. Jenny, I will bring you back.

Scott asked from the side, "Dr. Pym, how about letting me do it? The first trip is more dangerous, and we might not even find the target."

Dr. Pym bluntly replied, "Your education level is too low. You can’t analyze the Quantum Realm."

Scott curled his lip in displeasure. Though he was an electronics engineer, he was no match for these monsters.

Tony looked at Dr. Banner and snorted. "Speaking of education, did someone not dare come because his education level was too low?"

Dr. Banner said, "Bert said that with you here, there might be an accident, so he decided not to come."

"An accident? Hmph, there won’t be any accidents this time. It’ll succeed one hundred percent."

Tony said arrogantly, "Only uneducated people who don’t understand anything worry about accidents."

"Tony, it’s only by heaven’s grace that you’re still alive."

Dr. Banner shook his head. At that moment, Dr. Pym climbed into the specialized quantum vehicle and shouted, "I’m ready."

"Godspeed, Dr. Pym."

Dr. Richards called out and pressed the Quantum Tunnel button. The quantum vehicle immediately shrank and entered the Quantum Realm.

In a certain unusual spacetime, the light of the quantum transit device gradually faded, revealing nine people in special uniforms and a raccoon.

One after another, they removed their helmets. There was no excitement on their faces, only dejection, even despair.

Hawkeye Barton dropped to his knees and furiously pounded the ground. Why had they been given hope, only for it to be destroyed?

Natasha hugged Barton and said apologetically, "I’m sorry."

Tony, much older now and even sporting white hair, said, "Don’t give up so early. We still have a chance."

Ant-Man Scott shook his head. "There’s no chance. We only had enough Pym Particles for one round trip. We don’t have any Pym Particles left to travel through time."

"Actually, we only used half our Pym Particles. Before we even reached the past, we were stopped by that mage who called herself Ancient One."

Tony shook his head. "Afterward, Ancient One drove us away, and we returned to the present through the Quantum Tunnel. From start to finish, we never used that tube of Pym Particles meant for the return trip."

Everyone brightened at once. Scott said, "But half isn’t enough."

"We’ll change our goal. Instead of obtaining the Infinity Stones, we’ll obtain Pym Particles. Once we have enough Pym Particles, we’ll go after the Infinity Stones."

Tony said, "Before Thanos snapped his fingers, Dr. Pym was still alive. As long as we return to the past and find him, we can get a large amount of Pym Particles."

"That’s true."

Everyone nodded. Steve frowned. "The problem is that mage Ancient One will keep stopping us. With her there, we can’t travel to the past at all."

Tony said, "Ancient One isn’t omnipotent. Barton traveled to the past before."

Natasha was puzzled. "Right, why did it work last time but not this time?"

"Because of the time period. Barton traveled to 2018, while we traveled further back."

Tony analyzed calmly, "We’ll find Wong and ask about Ancient One. Once we know more, we’ll know what to do."

"Okay."

Everyone nodded. They feared nothing but the loss of hope. As long as there was hope, no matter how difficult the future was, they would fight on.

Because they wanted to bring back half of Earth’s population.

The next day, Tony gathered everyone again and said, "I contacted Wong. Ancient One was the previous Sorcerer Supreme. She died in 2016 at the hands of the traitor Kaecilius. That’s why Barton could return to the past while we couldn’t."

Scott understood. "I see. So after 2016, we can travel through time however we want?"

"Yes. First, we’ll find Pym Particles. Then we’ll take Wong back with us and have him persuade Ancient One."

Tony nodded. "If that still doesn’t work, we’ll change the plan and look for the Infinity Stones after 2016. With enough Pym Particles, that shouldn’t be a problem."

"Great, we’ll do that."

Everyone nodded happily. At that moment, Dr. Banner asked, "Tony, Ancient One said that world wasn’t our past. What did she mean?"

"I don’t know either, but the Quantum Tunnel can only lead to that world. We don’t have a choice."

Tony shook his head and asked Scott, "Scott, what year should we go to find Dr. Pym?"

"2016, before Civil War."

Scott said, "After Civil War, Dr. Pym was wanted by America because of me and had to hide everywhere. He’d be hard to find."

"Then 2016, after Ancient One’s death."

Tony nodded. "Prepare to depart. Also, because our Pym Particles are limited, only half of us can go this time."

"Okay."

No one objected. After discussion, Tony, Steve, Thor, Hulk, and Scott would travel to 2016 to find Pym Particles.

This really is our last chance. This time, we have to succeed.

Everyone clenched their fists as the machine activated. They rapidly shrank and entered the Quantum Realm.

Parallel world.

Kingpin, a bald man in a black suit and so obese he was as large as two ordinary men, nervously stared at the Super Collider activating ahead of him while clicking a ballpoint pen.

On the surface, Kingpin was a great philanthropist in New York. In secret, he was New York’s underground emperor.

Some time ago, Kingpin’s wife Vanessa witnessed his battle with Spider-Man. Unable to accept his identity, she took their son and fled the mansion, only to be killed in a car accident.

Kingpin could not accept this. He had Dr. Octopus develop the Super Collider to search parallel worlds for his wife and son, and now was the moment it would activate.

Where there was Kingpin’s story, Spider-Man was naturally indispensable. At this moment, Spider-Man was battling Scorpion, the fully armed Prowler, and Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, atop the machine.

In this spacetime, the Green Goblin was a true green goblin—a green demon. He had wings, claws, a tail, and horns, and he was extremely ferocious. Even Spider-Man was being forced back step by step.

"Norman, if your son saw you like this, he’d be terrified."

Spider-Man clung to the ceiling, chattering as usual. The Green Goblin let out an inhuman roar and charged at Spider-Man, launching a flurry of attacks.

Just then, the Super Collider fully activated. Two enormous, chaotic beams blasted from the two emitters and slammed violently into each other. The surroundings immediately began to warp, while all kinds of unbelievable changes appeared in New York above, such as buildings suddenly becoming cartoonish.

Spider-Man shouted, "Kingpin, you can’t do this! New York will be destroyed!"

Seeing Spider-Man distracted, the Green Goblin took the chance to kick him away. By coincidence, Spider-Man landed right at the collision point and was pulled entirely inside.

Spider-Man’s presence threw the system into utter chaos. Kingpin shouted furiously, "Green Goblin, pull him out now!"

Norman and Prowler were about to do so when the Super Collider suddenly exploded, and violent energy swept through the area.

When the energy faded, Spider-Man, Green Goblin, Scorpion, Dr. Octopus, Kingpin, Prowler, and all the researchers had vanished from the ruins.

Laboratory.

The instant the quantum vehicle disappeared, the energy readings surged wildly. Dr. Richards glanced at them and cried out, "Run! The Quantum Tunnel is about to explode!"

"What? Hope, Reed, Scott, Dr. Foss, get behind me now."

Tony was shocked. He hurriedly activated the nano-storage unit in his chest. A large number of Nanoparticles flew out and formed a light barrier in the air, protecting him and everyone behind him.

The next moment, the Quantum Tunnel suddenly contracted, then exploded with a boom. A terrifying energy wave swept across everything around it, and the laboratory immediately came crashing down.

Tony’s light barrier held for a moment before shattering. Everyone was blasted away.

A short while later, the energy dissipated and the dust settled. Wearing the Mark 50 armor, Tony pushed aside a chunk of concrete and climbed to his feet. He scanned the ruins around him and shouted, "How is everyone? Are you all alive?"

Ant-Man Scott and Wasp Hope flew out through a crack, returned to their original sizes, and said, "We’re fine."

"I’m fine too."

Dr. Richards said as he adjusted his flattened body.

"We’re fine."

Ghost and Dr. Foss shouted. At the crucial moment, Ghost had protected Dr. Foss.

"I’m definitely fine."

Dr. Banner climbed up and complained, "Tony, maybe you should stop talking in the future. Every time you speak, you get slapped in the face."

"How is this my fault? Damn it, we checked everything. Why did it explode?"

Tony cursed as he opened his helmet. When Hope saw that Dr. Pym had not appeared, her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly shouted, "Dad, where are you?"

Tony and the others exchanged glances, their expressions grave. In that situation, Dr. Pym was likely doomed.

Just then, with a crash, a massive slab of concrete was thrown aside. A huge green man in a tank top and jeans stood up, with a man in an Ant-Man uniform behind him.

Tony immediately aimed his hand at the big man and shouted, "Who are you? Huh, Hulk, is this your twin brother?"

A green flash passed across Dr. Banner’s face. Hulk said unhappily, "Don’t know him. Also, I don’t have a brother that ugly. I’m much more handsome than him."

Dr. Banner looked at the big man and nodded. "He really is ugly, especially that tank top. It’s an assault on the eyes, about the same as Tony wearing women’s clothes."

Tony said, "When have I ever worn women’s clothes? Still, this Hulk really is an assault on the eyes."

The big man was displeased. "Hey, that’s too much. How am I ugly? Don’t I look just like you?"

"Ugly."

"Super ugly."

Banner and Hulk spoke one after the other. The big man, Future Banner, could not help rolling his eyes. "You two are the ugly ones."

"We’re not ugly."

Hulk grinned. "New guy, I could tell at a glance that you’re single. Right?"

Future Banner took a critical hit. "So what if I’m single? Looking like that, could either of you possibly have a girlfriend?"

"I don’t have a girlfriend. I have a wife!"

Banner raised the hand with his wedding ring and said with a "humble" expression, "Sorry, I’ve been married for years."

"You’re married?"

Future Banner was stunned. "To Natasha?"

Banner hurriedly said, "Don’t talk nonsense. I have nothing to do with Natasha. From beginning to end, Betty is the only one I’ve ever liked."

Future Banner was shocked. "Betty? How is that possible? Didn’t General Ross stop you?"

Banner said, "He did. Then Bert threw him into prison."

"You could do something as beastly as throwing your father-in-law into prison?"

Future Banner said, "By the way, who is this Bert? Can you introduce me to him?"

"So you’re that kind of Banner!"

Future Ant-Man removed his helmet and complained. Scott, who was helping Hope search for Dr. Pym, stared at Future Ant-Man in astonishment. "What is going on? First there was the same Hulk, and now there’s another me?"

"The Quantum Realm…"

Tony thought for a moment and asked, "Are you from the future or a parallel world?"

"Theoretically, we should be from the future, but your situation is clearly different from our original history."

Future Banner shook his head. "By the way, what year is it now?"

Tony answered, "2014."

"Two years early. Looks like it was the quantum storm’s influence."

Future Banner said, "We originally wanted to go to 2016, but we encountered a quantum storm in the Quantum Realm. By the time we woke up, we were already here."

"A quantum storm? Could it have been caused by two spacetimes traveling through the Quantum Realm at the same time?"

Everyone was stunned. What they did not know was that it was not two spacetimes, but three: the real world, the future world, and the parallel world.