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Future Natasha listened blankly to Tony's excited words, eventually fixing her gaze on Arthur.
She didn't speak, but the confusion in her eyes was unmistakable.
It wasn't just her; the others gradually turned their attention to Arthur as well.
It was a peculiar situation.
Through Future Natasha's narration, they had heard a completely different story from the one they knew so well, a complete, plausible account with every detail meticulously crafted.
Therefore, it was reasonable to speculate that Future Natasha likely didn't come from their Future at all.
The concept of parallel universes had been widely disseminated long before this moment...
Thus, this Future Natasha likely hailed from a Future within some parallel universe!
But if that were the case, why was there no Arthur in her world?
Arthur shrugged. "Perhaps it's not so surprising. Even the smallest differences in events can lead to drastically different Futures. Maybe in her world, I died on the battlefield during World War II."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Such a possibility couldn't be ruled out entirely, yet it felt utterly absurd.
Arthur's strength had become ingrained in everyone's bones. No one could imagine him dying on the battlefield.
Tony took a deep breath and averted his gaze from Arthur. Some mysteries were clearly best left unexamined for now.
There would be plenty of time later to unravel them, though a strange sense of regret lingered.
He turned his attention back to Future Natasha. "If your world doesn't have someone like him, then it's understandable how things could have reached this point."
"After hearing so much about his legendary achievements," Future Natasha glanced at Tony before fixing her gaze on Arthur, "I must admit, I'm quite astonished... But right now, that's not the most important thing. What matters most is whether I can return to my original world."
The group exchanged glances until Arthur gently tapped the table. "For specialized matters, we need to consult experts. In the meantime, you can stay at Camp Lehigh."
"No problem." Future Natasha surveyed the familiar faces around her. Even though they were from a different world, she trusted these people completely and had no reservations about staying.
One by one, the others filed out of the conference room.
Arthur remained seated, motionless...
His mind was in disarray, mainly because he never imagined someone from a parallel universe would suddenly appear in his world!
The truly concerning question was: How many parallel universes exist? If one traveler had crossed over, could an entire group follow?
Moreover, once entangled with parallel universes, the most chaotic scenarios were inevitable.
Could he safeguard everything he currently held amidst this chaos?
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table until two hands pressed down on his shoulders, snapping him out of his reverie. Arthur gently pinched the space between his eyebrows. "My explanation probably didn't put everyone at ease."
"The crucial point is that you're here in our world," Natasha said flatly. "As for where you came from, it's irrelevant to us."
Silence...
The silence broke with Arthur's slightly dry voice: "It was an ordinary, peaceful world. I was just an ordinary person, without any grand ambitions. No superheroes, no supervillains. The meaning of my life boiled down to gaming and rent. If things had stayed that way, I might have eventually found an ordinary but gentle wife, built a quiet yet warm family, and weathered my own midlife crisis, complete with a beer belly, lamenting life's hardships and the struggles of existence..."
Some words, some truths, are never spoken aloud.
But when a person reaches a certain breaking point, the hidden things buried in their heart naturally spill out.
Arthur no longer felt any fear, nor did he need to worry about being captured and dissected after revealing these truths.
After all, the fact that he wasn't currently capturing others for dissection was already a supreme act of mercy.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Arthur gently opened his mouth and began to speak, revealing the secrets buried deep within his heart. "You probably can't imagine the terror of someone who's only seen gunfights on TV suddenly finding themselves on a real battlefield. Blood flowing, brains splattering... But what's even more terrifying is when you try to escape, yet everything around you forces you forward! Forward... Forward... Forward..."
"And then, I moved forward."
The pressure on his shoulder remained steady, without pause. Arthur tilted his head back to gaze at the ceiling. "I never wanted to be a hero. All I wanted was a safe world..."
"World peace?" Natasha asked mockingly, her lips curving into a playful smile.
Arthur chuckled. "Do you believe that? It's just a joke... well, a meme."
"But the safety you crave is precisely such a world," Natasha said softly. "One without conflict."
Arthur fell silent.
The silence didn't last long. Natasha spoke up, "They... must have already figured it out."
Arthur nodded.
His explanation couldn't possibly fool everyone, especially since... back on Vormir, the Soul Stone had taken them on a soul journey. Each of them had experienced what they were originally meant to endure. Natasha's words today resonated perfectly with that experience.
Superheroes weren't just muscle-bound brutes with simple minds. Take Banner, for example, that seemingly mindless green hulk was actually a man burdened with seven doctoral degrees. How could he possibly have overlooked such implications?
"Perhaps I confessed precisely because I knew I couldn't hide it any longer?" Arthur chuckled bitterly. "Do you think Camp Lehigh, the organization I founded with my own hands, will crumble because of this?"
Natasha pressed her hand against Arthur's chest, her voice soft in his ear: "What you desire aligns with our hopes. Even the God-King of Asgard believes in you. What reason could we possibly have to betray you?"
Arthur considered this for a moment, then smiled. "Then inform everyone: tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, we'll meet here to discuss the potential impact of Future's appearance here on us."
After a moment of silence, he added, "Anyone unwilling to attend is free to stay away."
"No one will refuse."
(End Of This Chapter)