In the previous round of the Quiz game, the audience had actually already seen Captain Carter. But that was in the Illuminati universe, and its background differed quite a bit from the main Marvel universe, which made it harder to feel truly immersed.
This current animated world, though, was different. The timeline and setting were identical to the main Marvel universe—except for one critical divergence: Peggy Carter replaced Steve Rogers and became the Super Soldier.
This twist got Tony, Bruce, and the others thinking. What if something had gone differently at a key moment in their own lives? How would things have changed?
What if Tony hadn't been kidnapped? Or if he'd been rescued during the ambush? Would he still have become Iron Man?
Or in the third Spider-Man's timeline—what if Gwen, who was also at Oscorp at the time, had been bitten by the mutated spider instead? Would she have become Spider-Woman?
Normally, these kinds of "what ifs" were just idle speculation. But this animated universe made it clear that behind every such guess, a colorful branch of the multiverse might have been born.
It was quite the thought-provoking revelation.
Now back to Pietro's mission in this world: he needed to get to the Tesseract before Peggy Carter did and take it away from Hydra.
Bruce couldn't help but sigh. "It's a shame Steve isn't here to be part of this mission…"
Tony chuckled, a mischievous grin on his face. "Don't worry. I've already recorded plenty of video. He'll get his fill when we get back. Wonder what he'll think of animated Peggy Carter?"
Is it possible… that Captain America might turn into an anime fan?
Pietro smacked his forehead, coughed twice, then said seriously, "I think we should focus on finishing the mission. Honestly, I'm not even doing this for the mission reward—it's just a few dozen points. I just think the Tesseract is too dangerous. It needs to be in hands that can actually keep it safe."
Bruce nodded in agreement. "Red Skull only managed to build those powerful weapons because he got his hands on the Tesseract. Then it drew Loki and the Chitauri. And worst of all, it ends up in Thanos' hands."
Pietro raised a brow. "Glad we're on the same page. So Peter, what about you? Think we should do this?"
Spider-Man #3 wasn't that familiar with the main Marvel universe's storyline and didn't know much about the Tesseract. He just shrugged. "Can I abstain? My mission was just to bring you back."
Pietro nodded, then turned to Tony. "One abstention. Two votes for, one against. Tony, you're outvoted."
Tony rolled his eyes and waved him off. "Fine, fine. You little rebel. Looks like you win this round. But since you're so hang on about it, I assume you've got a plan?"
Pietro paused. "Do we need a plan? We just head over, beat up the Hydra guys, and grab the Tesseract, right?"
Tony circled him slowly. "Great. So, Pietro—can you tell me exactly where the Tesseract is right now? Has Hydra actually taken possession of it? Do they even know where it is?"
That caught Pietro off guard. He hadn't really thought it through. He had only gathered some loose intel on Peggy Carter and decided to act fast—but even her information wasn't 100% reliable.
He scratched his head. "I figured we could just follow Captain Carter and wait for her to find it, then we…"
"Snatch the Tesseract from her?" Tony cut in, shaking his head. "Kid, are you seriously suggesting we go up against Captain Carter and the Allied forces behind her? Even if Steve doesn't punch you when we get back, I won't allow that. Got it?"
He remembered that, during this time period, his dad—Howard Stark—was working with the Allies. No way he was going to cross them.
Pietro was visibly frustrated. He glared at Tony, feeling like the guy was being deliberately difficult. Clearly not interested in helping, just here to throw shade.
"Fine. If you're not gonna help, I'll go on my own. I've got two days. Whether I fail or succeed, I'll return when time's up. You can stay here or go back early. Your call."
He turned to leave, ready to take action solo.
Tony stepped in front of him. "Kid, I'm just telling you—if you want to pull this off, you need to follow my plan. Understand?"
They locked eyes. Pietro didn't like it, but he knew Tony had a point. Going alone would probably just create a mess—even if he managed to complete the mission.
Tony's plan was pretty simple. First priority: don't reveal their identities. That way, they'd avoid unnecessary chaos or irreversible damage to the timeline.
He and Peter would go out to gather intel. Pietro and Bruce would head to Germany first and find a safehouse.
Right now, their intelligence was limited. All they knew was that Hydra was actively looking for the Tesseract and would likely find it soon. It was safe to assume they'd ship it back to their home base once they secured it. But the exact when and where still needed further analysis.
"Mr. Stark, what do we do next? Sneak into the military base?"
The next day, the two arrived near the military base where Captain Carter was stationed. They didn't get too close—just climbed a small hill to scout the area.
Peter looked excited, eyes scanning the terrain. There weren't many trees around, so escape routes would be tricky. Something to keep in mind.
Tony shook his head. "Not so fast. Your job is to keep watch. Nothing more."
He raised his wrist and tapped on his watch. In an instant, a nano-tech suit flowed over his body. It wasn't a typical MK-series suit.
This one didn't fully encase him. It only protected vital areas like the chest, abdomen, and neck. Most of the material formed a specialized launcher system on his back.
"Whoa, that's so cool!" Peter's eyes lit up. There's something about robots that always makes a guy's heart race.
Tony struck a pose, showing off a bit. "My latest creation. Not built for combat—just infiltration."
Thanks to technological imprint—that has given a whole range of bizarre scientific knowledge—Tony had come a long way. His hands-on skills had massively improved, and his imagination had grown way beyond what his original timeline self could've dreamed.
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