In the minds of trustworthy individuals like Frank, Pamela, Jean, and Lorna, Keno's voice suddenly echoed.
"Don't panic. It's all just a disguise. Don't blow your cover."
Lorna's face stiffened, but she calmly stood up without any signs of unease.
Pamela took advantage of the moment and gently poked the blood hole on his abdomen.
It was real.
"You've worked hard. Let me take you to rest."
Tony walked up to Keno and firmly gripped his arm.
"I can't. I still need to close the portal. Tony, Frank, you two guard this mothership and the Chitauri leader inside."
Keno squeezed the armor on Tony's arm lightly before wobbling into the air and flying toward the rooftop of Stark Tower.
Tony glanced at the imprint left on his armored arm.
The only damage on the Apollo armor.
He looked up to see someone approaching the Chitauri mothership. The iron suits hovered around it in a protective ring.
"Do not approach. Leave immediately."
More than thirty Iron Man suits issued a warning.
"Why? This doesn't belong to you. I fought in this war too. I have the right to claim spoils."
Some people had greedy glints in their eyes—they'd come out of hiding specifically to scavenge.
Even a random piece from an alien ship could fetch a fortune.
"Leave or die!"
Frank couldn't be bothered to argue with them. He pulled out his pistol.
The Demon Gear Squad raised their Gatling guns, aiming directly at the looters.
"We—we're New York citizens! You can't kill us. You don't have the authority to enforce the law."
The leader, a black man, panicked at the sight of so many guns. Some people behind him began to back away.
Frank already had his finger on the trigger.
Tony raised his hand to block the gun.
"Frank, let me handle this."
Frank thought for a moment and holstered his weapon.
The man mistook this as a sign of cowardice.
"I knew you didn't have the gu—"
BANG!
Before he could finish, a gunshot hit his thigh, and he screamed in pain.
"You're right. They don't have law enforcement authority. But I do. You're under arrest for endangering national security."
A fully armed squad appeared before them. In the distance, military vehicles slowly approached, led by a young blond man.
"Who are you?" Tony frowned.
"FBI. This is national property. We're taking over."
The blond man flashed an ID at Tony and Frank.
It was indeed a real badge—but tucked inside was a black membership card. A core membership card.
Frank's mouth twitched. He nearly laughed, but held it in.
Tony, however, chuckled openly—hidden behind his helmet.
"Alright. We'll follow national orders. These Iron Suits? You can borrow them temporarily. Once you're done, they'll leave."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Here's my card."
The blond man smiled slightly.
He was none other than Alexander Pierce.
Keno arrived at the rooftop of Stark Tower.
He reached through the energy shield with his bare hand and pulled out the Tesseract.
Across from him, on another rooftop, Future Tony witnessed the scene. His eye twitched uncontrollably. This guy is way too strong.
[Stark, how's it looking?]
Future Cap's voice came through the earpiece. He had already made his way inside the tower.
"The Tesseract is in that demon's hands, but I don't see Loki's scepter."
Future Tony began searching the area.
[Isn't the scepter the key to closing the portal? How could it not be there?]
"I know, but that demon took out the Tesseract with his bare hands. He didn't use any key."
Just then, the Ant-Man on Future Tony's shoulder spoke.
"Stark, that demon just vanished."
"Where to?"
Tony turned to where Keno had been, only to find it empty. He had only looked away for a few seconds.
"What are you doing?"
A hand suddenly patted Future Tony on the shoulder.
A chill ran down his spine as he turned around—it was the demon who had just disappeared, holding the Tesseract.
"Uh, I saw the portal closed, so I came to check if you needed help," Future Tony stammered.
"Why are you stuttering, Tony? When did you update your armor? I've never seen this model. It's pretty slick."
Keno studied his nano-suit. The flowing liquid metal fit perfectly over Tony's body, looking more like metallic muscle than rigid armor.
Tony?
He called me by my name? Are we close in this universe?
Let's test it.
"This is the latest nanotech model. The old one got damaged. Keno, you're badly hurt. You should rest. Let me hold the Tesseract for you."
Tony extended his hand, eyes watching Keno nervously through the helmet.
"Injured? Oh, that? It's fake."
Keno's disguise vanished entirely, even his clothes were pristine and intact.
Tony was stunned. The man had taken on a whole Chitauri mothership without a scratch. Then what was the point of pretending?
No. This wasn't the time to analyze that. The priority was to get the Tesseract.
"Keno, mind if I take a closer look at the Tesseract?"
Tony kept his hand extended.
Behind him, Ant-Man held his breath.
"Sure."
Keno smiled and placed the Tesseract into Tony's hand.
It's just an empty shell, after all. I removed the gem right at the start.
Tony stared blankly at the Tesseract in his hand.
Are we really that close? He gave it to me just like that?
"Yes!"
Keno's expression changed.
"What was that sound?"
"What sound? Keno, you must be hearing things!" Future Tony replied in a hurry, already cursing Ant-Man in his mind.
"My ears don't make mistakes. The sound came from you, Tony. Why are you still wearing your helmet?"
Keno's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Ant-Man desperately covered his mouth, cold sweat pouring down.
With a grimace, Tony reached behind and pulled Ant-Man out.
"Oh right, this is just a toy I made because I was bored. Look!"
Tony poked Ant-Man.
"Yes!"
Ant-Man played along perfectly.
"It must've accidentally gotten stuck to my suit."
Tony explained.
[Venom, quick! Control my face muscles—I'm about to burst out laughing!]
[Hahahaha! This is hilarious! On it!]
Keno's face returned to a calm expression.
"I see. This little toy is actually pretty delicate. Mind if I borrow it?"
Tony barely had time to blink before Ant-Man appeared in Keno's hand, getting poked repeatedly.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
…
Relieved, Tony asked, "Keno, have you seen Loki's scepter?"
"Loki's scepter? It's in the Demon Corporation's underground lab. Didn't you already know that? Why ask me?"
Quote of the Chapter:"Power can be disguised, but truth will always pierce through illusion."
plz support me if you can
patreon.com/AZFANFICTION
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
This fanfiction is 90-chapter ahead and also this fanfic is 90 chapters ahead there