The air turned thick, like molasses laced with static. The dimension trembled as they stepped through the widening rift — twisted silhouettes of heroes that should've never existed.
Tony's HUD flickered. His sensors screamed.
"This... this can't be right."
Emerging first was a Captain America, but not the Steve Rogers Tony knew. This one wore black leather laced with Hydra symbols. His shield was a jagged disc of dark vibranium, pulsing with blood-red light.
Behind him followed a Scarlet Witch whose eyes burned with unstable chaos magic, her smile fractured and unnatural. Her fingers twitched, puppet-like, as if controlled by something darker.
Then came a Thor with empty sockets instead of eyes, his skin laced with Asgardian runes etched in molten gold. His Mjölnir floated beside him, cracked and whispering.
The Stark sister's voice shook.
"They're us... but broken."
Vision stepped forward, his golden hue flickering.
"They are echoes. Survivors of dead timelines, consumed by regret, manipulated by Oblivion Prime. And now... they want to replace you."
Without warning, Hydra Steve lunged at Tony, shield slicing through the air like a guillotine. Tony barely raised his arm to block, sparks flying from the impact. The force sent him skidding across the ground, suit groaning under the pressure.
Meanwhile, Chaos Wanda floated above the Stark sister, murmuring words in a language that rewrote physics. The young Stark launched a pulse blast — but Wanda twisted space itself, bending the attack back toward her.
The Stark sister rolled out just in time, landing in a crouch.
"Vision!" she shouted. "We need a plan!"
Vision was already in motion, phasing through the broken Thor's lightning bolt before re-solidifying behind him, placing a hand to the Asgardian's chest.
"You don't belong here," Vision whispered solemnly. "You died with honor."
A burst of golden energy pulsed — but Thor roared and struck with his hammer, sending Vision crashing into a cracked shard of floating timeglass. He hit hard, flickering.
Tony was locked in brutal combat. He landed a hit to Hydra Steve's chest, but the alternate Cap grabbed Tony's arm and whispered:
"In my world... you were the traitor."
Then he slammed Tony to the ground.
The Stark sister was being overpowered. Chaos Wanda floated down slowly, her chaotic energy manifesting behind her as distorted faces — fragments of lost realities.
"Let me show you what you'll become."
Suddenly, the Stark sister screamed, clutching her head. Wanda's magic was burrowing into her mind — showing her timelines where she failed, where Tony died because of her, where she became the next Paradox.
Vision pulled himself up, barely stabilized.
"We need to sever the rift," he said to Tony, voice tight. "Before more of them get through!"
Tony's hands sparked to life.
"One shot. One chance."
He aimed directly at the rift's core.
But before he could fire — a hand closed around his neck, lifting him effortlessly.
Oblivion Prime.
He hovered above them now, in full form — a godlike fusion of corrupted multiversal powers, his voice a chorus of ruined timelines.
"Did you think this was about survival?" Oblivion Prime said coldly. "This is about reset. Everything you fought for... dies now."
Oblivion Prime raised his corrupted gauntlet. The shattered pieces of the rift began to reform into a single, glowing orb — and inside it, Tony saw Earth. Not the current one — but a new version. One without the Avengers.
Without them.
As the orb began to compress, Tony screamed, suit glowing red-hot.
"No! I won't let you rewrite everything!"
Then — he vanished.
In a flash of light.
Gone.
The Stark sister screamed his name, reaching toward the empty space.
But it was too late.