Steve snapped the latches shut on the case.
The scepter lay quietly inside, the Mind Stone casting a yellow glow that flickered against the inner walls. He pulled out the Time-Space GPS, pressed a few buttons, and prepared to leave.
A voice suddenly came through the comms.
"Wait."
Natasha.
Steve tightened his grip on the edge of his shield. "What is it?"
"Loki escaped," Natasha said.
"…What?"
"The Tony from 2012 tripped in the lobby. The Tesseract flew out—Loki grabbed it and vanished." There was barely restrained anger in her voice. "I was chasing Rumlow. Didn't have time to keep an eye on him."
Steve's mind raced.
The Tesseract was gone. That meant the Space Stone was out of reach. With that thing, Loki could go anywhere in the Nine Realms—Jotunheim, deep space, even some unknown planet. There was no way to catch him.
He tapped his earpiece. "Tony?"
"I saw it," Tony's voice came through. "That unlucky version of me got knocked over by Thor, and the Tesseract rolled right to Loki's feet. But I'm at the Sanctum—I can't get there in time. Steve, we need to change the plan."
Steve dashed out of the room.
Through the shattered floor-to-ceiling windows, he looked down. The 2012 version of himself was standing with Thor, talking. An empty case lay on the ground.
Loki was gone. So was the Tesseract.
"Damn it."
Steve rarely cursed. But this time, he did.
Then, suddenly, the air in the center of the hall warped.
A crack appeared out of nowhere, its edges glowing gold. The 2012 Avengers froze mid-motion—shields, armor, gun barrels all turned toward the rift.
Someone stepped out.
A black trench coat. A calm expression. Light swirling in the palm of his right hand.
Levi.
Steve froze.
This wasn't right. Levi shouldn't exist in this timeline. They had confirmed it—during the 2012 Battle of New York, Levi hadn't been involved. Back then, he was drifting somewhere in deep space, not yet returned to Earth.
So who was this?
2012 Thor raised his hammer, blue lightning crackling along its surface. "Who are you? Where is Loki?"
Levi didn't answer.
He raised his right hand and casually traced a line through the air.
Another rift opened twenty meters away. A figure in Asgardian prison garb was flung out, slamming heavily onto the floor.
Loki.
He still clutched the Tesseract, his face filled with shock and confusion.
Levi walked toward him, footsteps steady, echoing clearly in the silent hall. Loki scrambled to his feet, raising the Tesseract. Blue energy began to pulse across its surface.
"Don't move," Loki threatened. "Or I'll send you to the depths of space."
Levi stopped.
And looked at him.
After a few seconds, Levi extended his hand. The light in his palm flared, and space itself folded, twisted, compressed like fabric. The Tesseract tore free from Loki's grasp and flew into Levi's hand.
An invisible force seized Loki, suspending him helplessly in midair.
"Who are you?" Loki's voice carried real fear now. "I don't know you."
Levi didn't answer.
He held the Tesseract, the light in his palm growing brighter. It was the fluctuation of spatial laws—Steve had seen that kind of light before. During the Infinity War, Levi had used it to tear open portals.
2012 Natasha raised her gun. "Put the Stone down."
2012 Clint drew his bow.
2012 Thor crackled with lightning, ready to charge.
Levi turned his head and looked at them.
"Don't move."
His voice wasn't loud—but everyone heard it clearly.
Every one of the 2012 Avengers froze. Not out of fear—their bodies simply wouldn't obey. Space had been locked down; they were pinned in place, able only to blink and breathe.
Steve tightened his grip on the case.
He recognized it. This was Levi's spatial control ability. But something was wrong—this timeline's Levi wasn't here. So where did this one come from?
"Tony, do you see this?" Steve asked quietly.
"I do," Tony replied, voice tense. "That's Levi. But not from our timeline."
"What do you mean?"
"It means," Tony said, "someone came here from another timeline. And not using the Time-Space GPS—he tore through the temporal barrier directly."
Steve swallowed.
Levi held the Tesseract and looked up at the suspended Loki.
"I know where you're trying to go," Levi said. "Sakaar, right? You'll seek refuge with the Grandmaster. Hide there for a few years until things cool down."
Loki's face went pale.
"How… how do you know that?"
"Because you've already done it," Levi said. "In another timeline."
Loki's pupils shrank.
Levi released his grip. The Tesseract floated in midair. Then he turned, looking toward the second floor—right where Steve was hiding.
"Come out, Captain," Levi said. "I know you're there."
Steve took a deep breath.
He stepped out of the shadows and stood by the shattered window.
Levi looked up at him.
"The Captain from 2023," Levi said. "You're here for the Stones."
Steve didn't deny it.
"Who are you?" Steve asked. "You're not the Levi of this timeline."
"I'm not," Levi said. "More precisely, this timeline doesn't have me. I'm from 2024—your timeline."
2024.
Steve's thoughts tangled. It was currently 2023. They had traveled back to 2012 to retrieve the Stones. So why was a 2024 Levi here?
"Why are you here?" Steve asked. "Did our plan fail?"
"It's complicated," Levi said. "I've seen the timeline. Loki escapes with the Tesseract—something that wasn't supposed to happen. He goes to Sakaar, triggers a chain reaction. Eventually, Thanos learns the locations of the Stones ahead of time. This timeline ends in destruction."
Steve's heart sank.
"So you came to stop him."
"I came to return the Stone to you," Levi said.
He waved his hand.
The Tesseract flew toward Steve. Instinctively, Steve caught it, feeling its cold surface and the pulse of energy within.
"Take it," Levi said. "Continue your plan."
Steve looked at the Tesseract in his hand, then back at Levi.
"What about Loki?"
"I'll handle him," Levi said.
He snapped his fingers.
Loki dropped from midair—but instead of hitting the ground, a golden portal opened beneath him. He fell straight into it and vanished.
The 2012 Avengers were still frozen in place. Thor tried to shout but couldn't. Natasha's finger rested on the trigger, unable to pull it.
Levi glanced at them.
"Sorry," he said. "You won't remember I was here."
He snapped his fingers again.
Golden light spread from his palm, enveloping the entire hall. Steve watched as it swept over the 2012 Avengers—their eyes turned blank, their bodies gradually regaining movement.
Thor lowered his hammer, looking around. "Where's Loki?"
Natasha lowered her gun. "He escaped."
Clint relaxed his bow. "Used the Tesseract."
Their memories had been altered.
Steve tightened his grip on the Tesseract.
Levi turned to him.
"Go back," Levi said. "Continue your mission. Don't worry about the timeline—I'll handle it."
He fell silent for a moment.
"I wasn't there during the Infinity War," Levi said. "So for this timeline… I'll make up for it."
Steve wanted to say something—but Levi had already turned away.
A golden rift opened behind him. Not the blue glow of the Time-Space GPS—this was deeper, more powerful. A fusion of pure temporal and spatial laws.
Levi stepped into the rift.
It closed behind him.
The hall returned to normal. The 2012 Avengers resumed cleaning up the battlefield. Thor searched for Loki's trail. Natasha counted prisoners. Everything seemed ordinary—except for the extra Tesseract in Steve's hands.
The comm crackled.
"Steve?" Tony's voice came through. "Did you get the Tesseract?"
"Got it," Steve replied.
"How?" Tony asked. "Didn't Loki escape?"
Steve looked at the cube in his hand.
"Levi gave it to me."
"…What?"
"Levi from 2024," Steve said. "He showed up and returned it."
Silence lingered on the other end.
"2024?" Tony's voice distorted slightly. "How'd he pull that off? The Time-Space GPS can only travel through time—not across timelines."
"He didn't use it," Steve said. "He tore through the temporal barrier."
Another pause.
"…Yeah," Tony finally said. "That sounds like Levi. Let's pull out. We'll talk when we're back."
Steve pressed the Time-Space GPS.
As they activated it, a flash of light enveloped them. In the distance, Levi's figure appeared once more, watching the Avengers vanish as he murmured softly:
"Sorry, my friends… you can't take this memory back with you."
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