"So, Wanda, did you know why Esdeath called me urgently and said there is something I should see?" asked Luke, still thinking about the message and why it sounded so rushed.
Wanda shook her head slightly. "That wasn't Esdeath," she said. "It was Stark. He was asking for you. He said something important came up and they need your help."
As she finished speaking, she let go of Pietro, and the moment she did, he dropped straight to the ground like something inside him had completely shut down, his body going still as if his soul had just stepped out for a break.
Luke looked down at him, then back at Wanda.
"Oh? Tony again," he said, unimpressed. "Didn't even thank me properly last time I helped him, and now he wants another favor."
"I don't know," Wanda replied with a small shrug. "He just said it's important."
A low, broken sound came from the floor.
Pietro was lying there, staring blankly, quietly sobbing like he had just lost a war no one else knew about.
That made both Wanda and Luke look at him properly.
Luke crouched down beside him and started patting his head, not even trying to hide the fact that he found this a bit funny.
"There… there," he said, dragging it out slightly. "I know it's hard the first time you gather courage and confess your feelings, and instead of rejection you get… that kind of answer."
Pietro didn't respond, still staring into nothing.
Luke kept going anyway.
"But man up, Pietro. Have some confidence. You're handsome, you've got superpowers, and your family is rich—which is me—so try again. A man shouldn't hesitate in these matters."
Pietro slowly turned his head, still dazed, his eyes barely focusing.
"Like you?" he asked.
That was enough.
Luke punched him straight on the spot.
"Are you calling me shameless?" he said, looking down at him.
Pietro clutched his head, finally reacting, which at least meant his soul had returned to his body.
Wanda watched the whole thing in silence, her expression shifting slightly as she looked at Luke.
She didn't say it out loud.
But it was obvious.
She agreed.
***
At the same time, in Avengers Tower, Tony stood across from… himself, the resemblance exact in face and posture, yet different in presence in a way that was hard to explain but impossible to miss.
The other Tony leaned back slightly with his arms crossed, studying him with open curiosity, as if he were looking at a reflection that didn't quite follow the same rules.
"I still can't believe this," Tony said, running a hand through his hair as he paced once across the room. "Multiverse, alternate timelines, different pasts… and somehow you're me."
The other Tony's lips curved into a faint smirk, his gaze steady and amused.
"Correction," he said, voice calm but sharp. "I'm a better-dressed version of you."
Tony stopped mid-step and looked him up and down, taking his time as if genuinely evaluating the claim.
"…You're literally wearing the same thing," he said flatly.
"Yeah," the other Tony replied without missing a beat, "but I wear it better."
Steve, seated nearby, let out a quiet breath, already familiar with this kind of exchange, while Natasha leaned back slightly, watching with a faint hint of amusement. Wanda remained silent, her eyes moving between the two, still processing what she was seeing.
Tony raised a finger and pointed at his counterpart, his expression sharpening.
"Okay, let's get one thing straight," he said, his tone shifting slightly. "If you're me, then I know exactly how your brain works, which means that look right now is because you think you've already figured something out."
The other Tony tilted his head just a little, not denying it, not confirming it either.
"Have I?" he asked.
Tony narrowed his eyes, already reading between the lines.
"You think this is interesting," he continued, stepping closer now. "Not just the multiverse part, but what it means. Different outcomes, different choices, different tech paths, different—"
"—mistakes," the other Tony finished, his voice even.
The word settled into the room, and for a brief moment, no one spoke.
Tony held his gaze, the weight of that word not lost on him.
"Yeah," he said after a short pause. "Those too."
The other Tony leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his knees now, his focus sharpening.
"So tell me," he said, his tone quieter now but far more intent, "in your world… how far did you go?"
Tony didn't answer immediately. He drew in a slow breath through his nose, the usual sharpness in his expression dulling just enough to show that whatever he was about to say wasn't something he liked admitting.
"Well… it's bad," he said finally. "Our world is on the verge of destruction, and we urgently need help."
That made the other Tony stop pacing.
He stared at him for a second, then let out a short breath, clearly not buying it.
"Verge of destruction?" he repeated, skeptical. "You're telling me your Earth is about to fall apart and there's no one handling it? Isn't there someone like him on your side? Because from what I know, that guy alone should be enough to shut down anything before it even starts."
"Him?" Steve cut in, confused, looking between them. "Who are you talking about?"
"Luke Haken," Tony replied without hesitation, like it didn't even need explaining. "The most powerful being on Earth. At least the one I know."
That only made things worse.
"The most powerful?" Natasha asked, her brows drawing together slightly, because in their world that name meant nothing.
Tony didn't explain further.
"Jarvis," he said instead, already moving on, "play the footage."
"Understood, sir."
The display lit up.
What followed wasn't a normal battle recording. It was the New York invasion—but it didn't look like the one they knew. The sky tore open, Chitauri pouring in… and then, in a single overwhelming moment, everything changed.
No one spoke while it played.
By the time it ended, the room felt different.
"Wait…" Natasha said slowly, her eyes still on the screen before shifting back to Tony. "Your Earth has someone like that?"
"Yeah," Tony said, like it was nothing. "And the two of you in this universe are closer to him."
That made Natasha and Wanda exchange a look, both clearly thrown off.
"Close… how?" Wanda asked, not quite sure she wanted the answer.
Before Tony could respond,
Luke appeared.
No warning, no sound, just there, like he had always been standing in the room.
"Wow," he said casually, glancing around, "Tony, are you experimenting with holograms now?"
Tony didn't even react to the sudden appearance, not questioning it, not even commenting on the white hair. At this point, Luke ignoring logic was just part of the routine.
"You even made them look more mature," Luke added, stepping closer, his tone light as always.
Then he reached out and poked Wanda's cheek.
There was contact.
A real, physical reaction.
Wanda blinked, clearly feeling it—and that alone was enough to break the assumption.
Luke's expression shifted just slightly.
He had left Wanda back at the house.
So who exactly is this?
His eyes narrowed a fraction as he looked at her again, thinking it through.
Then, without much hesitation, he lifted his hand again and moved his finger toward Natasha's face, curious enough to test it—
—but Natasha reacted instantly.
Her gun was up in a fraction of a second, stopping his hand before it reached her, her gaze sharp and steady.
"Luke," Tony said, cutting in before this could turn into something else, "these are us. From another universe."
*****
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