The voice that suddenly appeared behind them completely shattered the atmosphere they had painstakingly cultivated.
Tony Stark turned around, looking displeased, and saw a space gate, cool to the extreme, appear behind him.
Walking out of the space gate was a guy wearing a wizard's robe and a large red cloak, and whose face was very, very long.
Without a doubt, it was Doctor Strange.
"I am Doctor Stephen Strange, and I need you to come with me," Doctor Strange said directly to Tony Stark, without any preamble.
It was much as everyone had anticipated; this footage showed that Doctor Strange didn't know Bruce Banner or Tony Stark, and he was definitely not part of the Avengers.
Both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were dumbfounded, clearly stunned by this uninvited guest who had made such a cool entrance.
It was all a bit confusing.
"Oh, and by the way, congratulations on your marriage."
Seeing that the atmosphere was perhaps a little awkward, Doctor Strange added this to try and ease the tension.
"Excuse me, are you selling tickets?" Tony Stark asked Doctor Strange, his eyes fixed on him, as sarcastic as ever.
"We need your help!" Doctor Strange said to Tony Stark, his expression serious. "And it's no exaggeration to say that the fate of the entire universe is at stake."
"Who does 'we' refer to?" Tony Stark asked, being very perceptive.
Without Doctor Strange needing to answer, another figure walked out of the portal, greeting Tony Stark, "Hey, Tony."
"Bruce!"
Tony Stark's face was momentarily stunned.
He clearly hadn't expected Bruce Banner to appear with Doctor Strange; the guy had been out of contact for over two years.
And it was obvious that something was off with Bruce Banner's condition.
After seeing Tony Stark, he showed an incredibly excited expression and immediately embraced Tony Stark.
It was as if something had just happened.
"Are you okay?" Tony Stark asked in surprise.
The image froze on Tony Stark's slightly dazed and bewildered face.
"It's clear that this footage happened after Dr. Banner was teleported to Earth by Heimdall," Captain America spoke first, summarizing.
It's obvious; there's nothing more to say.
"So, we can basically determine when Thanos will invade Earth," Captain America continued.
"I'll keep an eye on the Power Stone," Thor chimed in, his expression equally serious.
Everyone now knew the order in which Thanos would steal the stones. He would first go to Xandar, or perhaps Yondu, to seize the Power Stone, and then Asgard would be next.
After trashing Asgard, he would set his sights on Earth.
For both Asgard and Earth, the intelligence on which stone Thanos would take first was crucial.
"Thor, did you tell your father about Thanos after you returned to Asgard?" Tony Stark asked, staring at Thor after a moment of thought.
"I told my father," Thor nodded, but then he revealed a look of frustration and bewilderment. "Unfortunately, my father didn't seem to care; he didn't pay any attention at all."
This was a bit of a headache.
Actually, according to Tony Stark, passive defense couldn't compare to an active offensive. Instead of discussing how to prepare for Thanos' arrival, it would be better to take the initiative and eliminate him.
Everyone already knew Thanos' future activities. Planning and laying out a strategy in advance wouldn't be a bad idea.
Take Xandar, for example.
That was Thanos' first stop to seize an Infinity Stone. If everyone ambushed him there beforehand, they'd be dealing with a Thanos without any Stones, which would minimize the risk, wouldn't it?
But all of this hinged on one thing: Thor had to convince Odin. After all, Earth didn't have the capability for interstellar travel.
To deal with Thanos now, they really had to rely on Asgard.
But alas.
Odin didn't seem to take the matter seriously.
This is a bit of a headache.
"Perhaps Odin has his own considerations."
Black Widow was quite understanding. "Even between two countries, things aren't so simple, let alone two galaxies. As the ruler of the Nine Realms, Odin naturally can't act rashly."
"After I go back, I will continue to try and persuade my father, but I can't guarantee whether it will work or not." Thor shook his head slightly, speaking to everyone.
This matter could only be handled this way.
"The Time Stone!"
Captain America spoke again, "We can now confirm that the Time Stone has always been carried by Doctor Strange in the future."
The Time Stone was used by Doctor Strange during his battle with Dormammu, but just that one use doesn't explain much.
Now everyone could see clearly that Doctor Strange wore it every day.
"So the Time Stone... was always kept by that secret sorcerer organization in the future?" Tony Stark made a logical guess.
Although everyone couldn't be sure, this possibility was very high.
"Thanos said there were two stones on Earth, so it's obvious he was talking about the Mind Stone with Stark and the Time Stone with Doctor Strange."
Black Widow continued, following up on everyone's words.
This was equally beyond question.
At this point in the quiz, some key information about the final battle, such as the general timeframe and the motivations, was finally starting to take shape.
This was all very important.
[Question: Loki was killed by the Cursed Warriors in the Dark World, but it was actually just Loki faking his death. What was Loki's purpose in faking his death?]
[A. Cunning nature, pure prank, toying with Thor]
[B. Faking death to become the King of Asgard]
[C. To lull Thor into a false sense of security, returning to Asgard first to spread the news of Thor's failure]
[D. To trick Thor, solving the problem of the Dark Elves alone, proving himself stronger than Thor]
[Friendly reminder: Those who answer correctly will receive a Blood Bodhi; Those who answer incorrectly will randomly lose one of their own attributes, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc…]
The system's prompt suddenly rang out, interrupting everyone's discussion, and a new question appeared. Ads by Pubfuture Pubfuture Ads Everyone temporarily stopped their discussion and focused on the new question.
"Faking death?"
Black Widow couldn't help but shrug first. "We can finally confirm it this time. Loki was indeed faking his death back then."
After everyone saw the images of Loki being killed by Thanos before, they knew that Loki hadn't truly died when the Cursed Warrior stabbed him.
But they didn't know the specifics.
Whether he was rescued afterward, had some other stroke of luck, or if the God of Mischief and Deceit had been cunning again, there were many possibilities, and no one could be sure.
However, this time, the quiz system had made this clear to everyone: Loki was faking!
"As expected of the God of Mischief and Deceit, always full of tricks, even in that kind of situation, he didn't forget to put on a show."
Tony Stark's face held a hint of mockery as he glanced at Thor. "He even made Thor shed quite a few tears."
Thor's expression was a little off. He'd been fooled by Loki, and so completely, too. He'd even cried like a heartbroken person.
He felt so much affection for Loki, yet Loki toyed with him so cruelly.
What a heartless person!
"Loki? So... he's also that god from the myths?" Doctor Strange speculated from the side.
Since Thor from the myths existed, there was no reason for Loki not to.
"Yes, Doctor, but this Loki is different from the Loki in the legends. He's not Thor's uncle, but his brother," Black Widow explained to Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange: "..."
Why, when he was clearly a brother, did the legend spread on Earth that he was an uncle?
What exactly had Loki done to Thor?
"God? Ohoh~" Star-Lord exclaimed exaggeratedly from the side, "Are you sure the god you're talking about is the god I'm thinking of? A god?"
Saying this, Star-Lord began to size Thor up and down, shaking his head repeatedly. "You don't look like a god at all, buddy. You look just like me."
"No, I'm definitely not the same as you!" Thor shook his head repeatedly, his face full of disdain.
You, with that whole layer of fat, you think I'm the same as you?
My physique is eighteen streets better than yours, alright!
"Alright, let's start answering the question!" Captain America spoke in a low voice, interrupting everyone. He glanced at the four options and began to analyze.
"Option A: If it were an ordinary person, of course, they wouldn't play a prank and make fun of Thor in that situation. But if that person is Loki, I wouldn't be surprised."
"He is the God of Mischief and Deceit!" Black Widow added, also expressing her agreement.
The others at the scene also didn't find anything wrong with option A for the time being.
Whether it was Loki's title of "God of Mischief and Deceit" or some of Loki's deeds that everyone had heard from Thor, option A was very much in line with Loki's style.
"He would definitely do something like that," Thor also thought.
So, option A can't be ruled out for now, but whether it's the right answer remains to be seen until we compare it with the other options.
"To become the King of Asgard? That's a bit unlikely, isn't it?" Doctor Strange scratched his nose, looking baffled. "How can a dead person become king? I don't understand that."
Not just Doctor Strange, but everyone else present also found that option a bit ridiculous.
"Didn't Loki say he just wanted to be on equal footing with Thor, that he didn't want to be king?" Black Widow glanced at everyone and said, "Just that one reason alone should eliminate B, right?"
"Even if Loki's mindset changed in the future and he wanted to be king, there's no possibility of success. He knows that."
Captain America, after some thought, offered a more cautious analysis.
"Loki launched the Battle of New York and previously let Frost Giants into Asgard. He's been locked up. Thor, after all he's done, Loki can't possibly become king, right?"
Of course, these were things that hadn't happened in reality, since everyone already knew the future and had made arrangements to change it.
The Battle of New York was nipped in the bud.
But this is a quiz, so what Captain America described was a different Loki, from another parallel world.
"That's natural," Thor nodded matter-of-factly. "What Loki did was a capital offense. Anyone else would have been executed long ago, but if it's Loki, he won't die, but he will spend his life in prison."
"That's right," Black Widow chimed in, "Didn't Thor bring Loki out of prison when he took Loki to deal with Malekith?"
"So, we're discussing a prisoner who wants to be king?" Tony Stark found it a bit absurd. "But..."
Tony Stark's tone then changed, "We can't look at this from our perspective. If Loki really wanted to be king at that time, what would he do? I have to say, faking his death is entirely possible!"
After all, as a prisoner, Loki had no hope. So, it wouldn't be surprising for Loki to change his identity.
After all, Loki knows magic, and his illusions are superb.
Changing his appearance is also a way to clean things up.
"But even if Loki fakes his death, he can't become king, right?"
Captain America immediately voiced his doubts. "In that situation, Thor is the only heir to the throne. Does Loki want to get rid of Thor and replace him?"
"He has to get rid of him permanently! Otherwise, when Thor returns, even if Loki's plan succeeds, it'll be exposed immediately."
"Or... permanently imprison Thor." Doctor Strange added, giving his own opinion.
In a word, Thor cannot show up, and Asgard cannot know that there is another Thor.
Either kill him or imprison him; even exile is unlikely.
"Loki wouldn't do that." Thor immediately shook his head in denial.
Everyone thought so too.
Because it didn't seem to fit Loki's character, nor did it match Loki's strength.
Through the quiz system, everyone learned that Loki actually had a core of goodness and beauty, and wasn't purely evil. The series of events he caused were all just to be on equal footing with Thor, nothing more.
Loki didn't want to be king!
Even if he did have that ambition, he didn't have the ability. Loki's strength was far inferior to Thor's.
"Or... directly kill Odin!" Tony Stark added from the side.
Everyone at the scene couldn't help but shake their heads. This was even less likely, that was Odin!
A generation of god-kings, who shook the Nine Realms, whose strength was unfathomable. Even someone as strong as Thor seemed like an ant before him, and one word from him turned Thor into an ordinary person.
Could Loki handle someone like that?
....
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