After a simple exchange, an agreement was quickly reached.
Nick Fury gave Captain America great authority, asking Captain America to personally command the upcoming actions.
Whether it was the investigation into the "thieves" who stole the Tesseract, or the subsequent deployment arrangements, Captain America would make the decisions.
As for Nick Fury himself?
He needed to go to the staff as quickly as possible to re-arrange the security measures for the staff.
After all, only Nick Fury could open the vault where the staff was kept.
The Whiplash Squad, and others, only obeyed Nick Fury's orders, and even now, no one knew of the Whiplash Squad's existence except for Nick Fury.
That's right.
Nick Fury planned to have the Whiplash Squad personally guard the staff "on site."
Cameras could lie and might be replaced by that other Stark.
Security systems could also lie; once some alarm systems were taken over, they would completely lose their function.
But human eyes could not!
What about Dr. Banner?
This super-genius scientist, who was in some aspects no weaker than Tony, would undoubtedly help Nick Fury design a new security system specifically to deal with Ant-Man.
Everyone's division of labor was very clear, and they quickly got to work.
Captain America, Nick Fury, and Dr. Banner's progress was not immediate, as results wouldn't be seen right away.
But Tony, very smoothly, appeared outside a deserted factory building.
According to the location provided by Jarvis, the Tesseract was inside this deserted building.
So, without a doubt, those Future Avengers must also be inside.
Tony's guess was correct, or rather, it was a given.
At this moment, in a spacious hall within the deserted building.
Future Captain America, Future Tony, and Future Ant-Man were gathered together with solemn expressions.
And beside them, there was a seemingly exquisitely crafted box.
Inside, naturally, was the Tesseract.
"So, we can't steal the staff the way we stole the Tesseract anymore?"
Future Tony's voice rang out, mixed with an uncontrollable sense of frustration, "Your 'shrinking magic' can't be used anymore?"
"I'm very sorry, Tony, that was the last one."
Future Ant-Man shook his head, his frustration no less than Future Tony's, "But I used it to evade the Avengers' pursuit."
Speaking of this, Future Ant-Man's brows furrowed into a knot, "I still can't understand how they found out the Tesseract was taken so quickly?"
Their operation was seamless!
Before opening that vault, it was impossible for anyone to discover the Tesseract had been stolen.
Were they just so unlucky that the vault was opened right after they stole the Tesseract?
But that didn't make sense either.
Who would open such a high-level vault for no reason, just casually?
"That's not our primary concern."
Future Captain America spoke solemnly, "What we need to consider now is how to get the staff."
The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been alerted, and the security around the staff would definitely become even more stringent.
And without Ant-Man's methods, this meant they could only acquire it through conventional means.
Under these circumstances, even for them, the Future Avengers, it was a very difficult task.
"Sir! Detecting the appearance of another super AI!"
Just as everyone was deep in discussion, Friday's alert suddenly rang out.
This immediately changed the expressions of the Future Avengers present.
It was Tony!
The other Tony!
The Future Avengers exchanged glances, seeing a hint of surprise and unexpectedness in each other's eyes.
They were found?
And so quickly!
The Avengers in this Universe were a bit too formidable!
One had to know, after successfully escaping the encirclement of another Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D., they had become completely low-key.
All their actions were cautious, leaving no traces.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't have been found again.
Let alone in such a short amount of time.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Sure enough, the sound of rushing air followed.
Under the gaze of the Future Avengers.
Another somewhat "outdated" metal lump descended from the sky, crashing down in front of everyone.
Click, click.
The opponent's helmet opened immediately.
A relatively younger Tony's face was revealed before everyone.
At that moment.
Future Tony also patted the "inverted triangle" on his chest, putting on his incredibly cool nanotech suit.
Of course, the main reason was not to fight his past self, but to cover up his highly similar face to the other party.
"I don't need to do that, I think. I shouldn't know you at this point, right?"
Future Ant-Man's brain began to spin rapidly, wondering whether to cover his face with his time-traveling suit.
He glanced at Future Tony beside him, falling into a dilemma.
However, seeing that Future Captain America didn't do it, he just shrugged and decided to leave it as is.
Of course.
These Future Avengers appeared calm, but each of them was on high alert.
Future Captain America even subconsciously moved closer to the Tesseract, to prevent it from being snatched away.
"I have to say, this is something I didn't expect!"
Future Tony, hidden beneath his helmet, spoke to his other self, "But are you alone?"
"Yes, just me."
Tony nodded solemnly, "And you don't need to be nervous, I'm not here to snatch the Tesseract."
"We both know that's not something I can do alone."
"So, I'm here to talk."
"That's right, before we gather enough people to deal with you and beat you to a pulp, I think maybe we should talk first."
Talk?
It must be said that this answer was truly unexpected by the Future Avengers.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Future Captain America stared intently at Tony, the vigilance in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest.
"You really haven't changed at all, do you really not age?"
Tony scanned Future Captain America up and down, unable to help but exclaim in admiration, "How many years later are you from? Ten years, or eight? You look exactly the same as now. I'm starting to want to study the serum now."
Whoosh!
Future Captain America was immediately startled, no longer able to maintain his composure.
Not only Future Captain America, but also Future Tony and Future Ant-Man beside him, all changed their expressions with Tony's words.
That other Stark actually exposed their identity in one sentence?
Knowing they were from the future?
What the hell!
What in the World!
So what exactly is going on with this Universe?
There's no reason at all for them to know about this!
"Wait, wait a minute, Stark, were you just implying... this person who looks a lot like Captain America next to me is from the future? Buddy, isn't that a bit too crazy?"
Future Ant-Man rubbed his messy face with his hand, looking at Tony in utter confusion as he tried to probe.
"Please!"
"You're not that stupid! Let's skip these useless preambles, Scott!"
Tony shook his head, a bit helplessly.
"You know who I am? You know I'm Scott?"
"Okay, that's not important. What's important is, you really do know I'm Scott from the future?"
Future Ant-Man was truly bewildered.
"How do you know?"
Future Tony's mind also stirred, and he retracted his suit, revealing his true appearance, looking at Tony with considerable confusion and solemnity as he asked.
Since Tony had said so much, he undoubtedly already knew their identities, and all pretense was meaningless.
So it was better to be direct.
"We have our own intelligence sources."
Tony only gave a vague, yet impressive answer, "Not only do we know you are from the future, but we also know your purpose."
"Banner isn't here? It seems he did go to Kamar-Taj, right?"
"And you all, stop thinking about the staff. You won't get it."
Astonished.
The Future Avengers were truly astonished.
What was going on?
Why did this other Tony know all their intentions?
"You know what we're here for."
Future Tony paused for a few seconds, then, after calming down, continued to press, "Then do you know why we're doing this?"
"Snap?"
"Save the half of all living beings that were erased?"
Tony shrugged, answering very matter-of-factly.
What's going on!
The other Tony even knew about the Snap?
He even knew what Thanos did?
What the hell!
From the looks of it, this Tony clearly knew everything about them, and was fully aware of future events!
But how could such a thing be possible!
"You're scaring me, buddy, you're really scaring me."
"Why do you know everything?"
Future Ant-Man could no longer remain calm.
Future Tony and Future Captain America beside him were the same, both deeply stimulated.
What kind of Universe had they traveled to?
"Since you know everything, then I think you should fully understand our actions, shouldn't you?"
"Then why are you still stopping us?"
Future Tony then naturally accused his other self.
"That's right, I completely understand."
"In fact, if I were in your shoes, I would do the same thing."
"But understanding is one thing; I still can't let you take the Stones. This is risking our Universe."
"Sorry, I can't do that."
Tony, however, shook his head resolutely, his attitude still firm.
The Infinity Stones were key to solving the Celestials problem and key to fighting the Purple Sweet Potato; they were simply too important.
"We'll return them, I promise!"
Future Tony also vowed confidently.
"You've already failed once in the Infinity War. How can you guarantee you won't fail a second time?"
But Tony said so.
Indeed, in the 199999 Universe, which was highly similar to his own World, the Avengers achieved victory in the Endgame War.
But no one knew whether his own World was the 199999 Universe!
And Tony's words directly left Future Tony somewhat speechless, his face dim.
The Infinity War was indeed a huge failure they could not deny.
It was also an indelible shadow in the hearts of all Future Avengers.
"We will do this at all costs!"
Future Captain America also added confidently from the side.
"No, Captain, no offense, but your verbal guarantee is not enough for us to stake our future."
Tony's attitude remained firm, not budging an inch.
"But we must also save our future!"
Future Ant-Man's resolve was no less than Tony's.
"So, I came."
Tony spread his hands, "You want to save your World? Of course, no problem, I will also do my best to provide all assistance."
"But not by 'aiding with the Infinity Stones'."
"You cannot touch the Stones. Then we will work together to figure out how to solve your problem."
"These are my terms!"
"Come on, with the wisdom of two Tony Starks, what problem can't be solved?"
At this point in the negotiation, Tony finally presented his terms to the Future Avengers.
The Future Avengers looked at each other, exchanging simple glances.
They basically understood each other's meaning and still intended to seize the Infinity Stones of this parallel Universe.
After all, not only for them, but for all other teams who had gone to different places to collect the Stones, success was the only option.
Before they traveled, they had been prepared to pay any price, even their own lives.
Although the other Tony's proposal was indeed convincing to a certain extent, the Future Avengers would not be so easily swayed.
"I've said everything I need to say."
"Whether we beat you up and take the Stones back, or you return them in a friendly manner, it's up to you to consider."
"By the way, a reminder, I don't think you have much time to consider."
Whoosh!
After dropping these words, Tony didn't delay any longer.
His helmet closed, and blazing energy streams shot out from his hands and feet.
He flew away gracefully, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Leaving only the Future Avengers staring at each other.
"Come on, say something! Captain, Stark?"
Future Ant-Man looked at Future Captain America, then at Future Tony, unable to help but call out.
"Let's leave here first."
Future Captain America, after a brief thought, called out to his two companions.
No matter what they were going to do next, their current hiding place had been exposed, which was an undeniable fact.
They needed to relocate to a safe place. (End of Chapter)