"Clearly, something went wrong, right?" Alex leaned back in his chair, brow furrowing as his sharp gaze fixed on Captain Marvel. His tone carried no doubt—only the weight of an accusation waiting for confirmation.
Carol Danvers didn't flinch. She exhaled slowly, her glass glinting in the banquet hall's warm light.
"Yes, something went wrong," she admitted at last. "I followed your plan. I helped Xandar crush Ronan's forces, secured their victory, and sealed an agreement for mutant immigration. Everything went smoothly on my end. But you…" Her eyes hardened. "You never showed up."
Her words struck the table like a hammer blow.
Alex's jaw tightened. "What I heard wasn't news of your arrival on Xandar, but reports of your mysterious disappearance back on Earth."
"Wait—" He straightened, suddenly alert. "During the so-called 'mutant immigration,' you weren't on Earth at all? You were waiting on Xandar?"
"Yes." She gave a faint, weary nod. "My original plan was to bring Xandar's fleet to Earth, pick you and the others up personally. But you… or rather, the other you… had different instructions."
Her gaze flicked toward him, measuring his reaction.
"You asked me to set up a transmission ceremony on Xandar. You claimed some advanced technological array could transport every mutant directly to the planet. I trusted you. I stayed there, guarding that site for years."
Alex fell silent.
Ellipses seemed to fill the space between them. So that was it. The puzzle pieces began to click into place with an almost cruel inevitability.
If she spoke the truth, then the so-called "transmission" must have gone wrong. Instead of delivering mutants to the safety of Xandar, it had hurled them elsewhere—perhaps to some forgotten sector of the universe. Or worse.
An eighty percent chance. That was Alex's cold calculation.
He voiced his suspicions quietly, and Carol's shoulders slumped.
"That's what I feared too. After years of waiting in vain, I left Xandar and searched every system I could reach. But I found nothing. No trace of you, or them. And when I returned…" Her voice tightened. "Xandar was gone. Thanos destroyed it."
For a moment, grief flickered across her face before being buried beneath her usual steel. She looked at him—this strange, alternate Alex who wore a familiar face yet carried different memories. "I never expected to meet another version of you."
Alex said nothing, but his mind spun.
The threads were coming together. He could see the broad outline of the truth—but the center of the web was still hidden. Why had his future self chosen Xandar as the new homeland for mutants? What was this mysterious technology capable of transporting millions across light-years back in 2016? And most disturbing of all… had it really been an accident?
Or deliberate sabotage?
"Danvers," Alex said at last, his tone grave. "What else do you know?"
She shook her head slowly, taking another measured sip of wine. "Not much. Except… you didn't do this alone. You worked with the Eternals."
The words dropped like ice water.
"The Eternals?" Alex repeated, his brow rising.
Carol gave a bitter little laugh. "That was my reaction too."
Eternals. The ancient race who claimed to watch, but never intervene. Guardians who hid behind silence unless the Deviants stirred. If they had touched this, it rewrote everything Alex thought he knew about them.
"I told you," Carol muttered, "I didn't trust them. But you—he—brushed me off. You believed them. Maybe you were right. Maybe not. Who knows? But if anyone holds the key to what happened, it's them."
Her vagueness only deepened Alex's unease. If his future self had deliberately kept Carol—his closest ally—out of the loop, then it wasn't mere oversight. It was intent. That secrecy screamed of something larger, something Alex couldn't yet see.
At length, Carol broke the silence, her voice softer. "I've told you all I know about the disappearance. Now…" She lifted her glass toward him with a wry half-smile. "Your turn. Tell me about you."
Alex relaxed fractionally, shrugging. "Depends on what you want to know."
Their conversation drifted, the weight of revelations softening into casual banter. The banquet, once tense with hidden daggers, eased into laughter and music again. For the others, it was simply a night of luxury. But for Alex, the evening had carved a new path forward.
He had enjoyed fine wine, fine company—and uncovered the single most important lead yet.
But instead of answers, the banquet had only sharpened the questions: Why Xandar? Why 2016? Why involve the Eternals at all?
The disappearance of the mutants was no longer a mystery without shape. It was a locked door—and Alex now held the first glimmer of a key.
---
The following days slid by in deceptive calm. Alex wandered New York like a tourist, visiting landmarks, strolling the streets, even indulging in quiet leisure. But beneath his easy smile, his mind churned ceaselessly.
A week later, the summons came.
Tony Stark's message was brief, but it carried all the weight of destiny: The time machine is ready.
Naturally, Alex wasted no time.
At the Avengers' temporary headquarters, a gathering awaited him. Captain America, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and several others stood by the platform. Captain Marvel, too, had come—arms folded, expression unreadable.
"Alex," Steve Rogers said, stepping forward. His tone was steady, but his eyes carried rare warmth. "Thank you—for everything."
"Don't mention it, Rogers." Alex gave him a faint, almost teasing smile.
"Maybe one day I'll look back on this mess fondly," Tony quipped with a shrug. "Time travel, cosmic battles, you crashing our parties… not the worst company I've had."
Carol stepped closer, her gaze locking onto Alex. "Promise me this. Find out the truth behind the mutants' disappearance. Don't let it remain buried."
"I will," Alex said simply, and she seemed to believe him.
With that, he lifted the case containing the Tesseract and strode onto the platform.
"Well, everyone… goodbye."
"Bruce," Steve commanded softly.
Banner's fingers flew over the console. "Alright—counting down. Five, four, three, two, one… Activate!"
Whoosh!
Light roared to life, swirling into a blinding vortex. The portal bloomed open like a cosmic wound, and in an instant, Alex was gone—swallowed by time itself.
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