Hearing Carol's question, Tony, who had just arrived nearby, pressed his lips together.
"While we were collecting the stones, Nebula got her memories linked with her past self. So the 2014 Thanos learned everything and brought the fight straight to us!"
"Wow, that sounds intense. And I missed the whole thing!"
Carol let out a regretful sigh. She strolled over to Thanos's body and could not resist checking his injuries.
As for Heisenberg…
He might as well not have existed in her eyes.
Even though Carol completely ignored him, Heisenberg did not feel the slightest bit angry.
If Carol thought they were not on the same level, well, Heisenberg happened to agree.
So he casually tossed the gauntlet to Iron Man.
"Here. You guys figure out how to send the stones back on your own time."
The moment the words left his mouth Tony's expression soured.
"Uh, I'm really sorry, Mr. Heisenberg. Our quantum tunnel got destroyed by Thanos, and the backup tunnel… well, between your fight with him and everything else… Anyway, we need time to rebuild the tunnel and recalibrate the coordinates, so… it looks like you'll have to stay in our era and rest for a while!"
Heisenberg simply nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"No problem. Today's fight felt pretty good. My clothes are shredded anyway. I'll find a place to rest. You all stay busy."
Before Tony could reply, Heisenberg turned and shot straight into the sky, vanishing in a streak of wind.
The instant Heisenberg took off, Carol finally noticed something was off. She stared hard at the spot where he had disappeared and muttered under her breath.
"So fast!"
She spun back toward Iron Man and asked, "Who was that? I've never seen him before, but he feels incredibly strong!"
"Heh… him? That's Heisenberg. He's Superman."
"Wait, you said he's who?!"
Carol could not hide her shock. Superman had been her idol since childhood, right alongside Captain America.
Seeing her stunned reaction, Tony shrugged with obvious relief.
"When we went back in time we found out the past had changed a little. Heisenberg is the reason for all those changes. During the Battle of New York in 2008 he drove Loki away and took the Mind Stone for himself. I invited him to bring the stone to our universe and help us. Like I've told a lot of people, the best decision I've ever made in my life was probably bringing Heisenberg into our timeline!"
"I get it. The uncertainty of time travel makes sense. But I still have one more question!"
As she spoke Carol pointed straight at Thanos's corpse.
"Who did that? Was it you guys, or did he do it to himself?"
"You're not wrong. Almost all of Thanos's injuries came from Heisenberg alone. Even the way they fought… Heisenberg kept total dominance the entire time!"
"Just as I thought!"
Carol nodded in understanding, then let out another sigh of admiration.
"With a body like Thanos's, to be beaten until he's basically falling apart… over seven hundred broken bones, muscles torn to the point of nearly becoming pulp. That kind of power is at least on my level. This guy is seriously strong!"
With that, Carol relaxed into a smile.
"That's good, actually. Once word spreads through the universe that you handled Thanos without me, people will think Earth can deal with him on its own. No one will dare come looking for trouble here anymore!"
"Haha, that would be perfect!"
Tony smiled with satisfaction. After all, his greatest wish for the second half of his life was to keep his planet free from the fires of war.
"Your explanation makes me feel a lot lighter, Danvers. Thanks. But we still have to say goodbye for now. I need to finish cleaning up the last of Thanos's army, then find time to rebuild the quantum tunnel."
He lifted the Infinity Gauntlet in his hand.
"After all, this thing needs to be returned to its original owners after we're done using it!"
The moment Tony finished speaking Carol's smile grew even brighter.
"Exactly. Since Thanos is taken care of, it's time to put this damn universe back the way it was!"
She reached out and spoke decisively.
"I'll snap my fingers. Your bodies can't handle the backlash from the Infinity Stones."
"Hahaha!"
Tony burst out laughing at Carol's words. He started walking toward the final battlefield while calling back cheerfully.
"What are you thinking? The snap already happened. Can't you see how broken the gauntlet is?"
Tony never expected that single sentence would make Carol's normally composed face turn dead serious in an instant.
She grabbed Tony by the arm and roared, "What did you just say? The snap already happened?!"
Her voice was so loud that many people turned to look in their direction.
Noticing something wrong with Carol's expression, Captain America flew over with Mjolnir in hand. Banner leaped over as well.
Aside from the lower-level personnel still fighting, most of the Avengers gathered near Captain Marvel and Captain America.
The only exceptions were Rocket, Groot, and Drax. The three of them were struggling to lift a massive slab of rock. With Drax's help Groot finally followed the scent of his own arm and found Thor's Stormbreaker lying somewhere on the battlefield.
Groot excitedly picked up the axe and carried it over to Thor, who was still coughing blood among the distant ruins. His clear eyes were full of concern as he placed Stormbreaker into Thor's hands.
Thunder roared instantly. Lightning crackled all over Thor's body. Under the current's help his injuries began to heal at a visible rate.
In the middle of that storm-like sky, surrounded by most of the Avengers, Carol gritted her teeth and shouted at Rogers.
"Are you sure the snap already happened?!"
"Uh, I don't know why you're so worked up, but yes, the snap already happened. You saw it yourself. Everyone came back!"
Rogers raised his hand as proof, and the rest of the Avengers nodded in agreement.
Only Little Spider looked completely lost and muttered, "My god? I really died earlier? I turned into dust! I thought it was just a hallucination. I thought I only passed out! Oh my God, I actually died once! That's so cool! Just like Jesus, died and came back to life. This is awesome…"
"Peter!!!"
Tony's sharp scolding finally shut the kid up.
"Okay, okay, my bad. I'll be quiet!"
Once he finally fell silent Carol could no longer hold back the unease in her heart.
She snatched the Infinity Gauntlet and saw at once that two stones were missing.
"Who snapped their fingers?!"
Bang!
She slammed the gauntlet to the ground.
"Tell me! Who snapped? What did they do with it?"
"Danvers, what exactly is going on!"
Rogers called out loudly from the side. His idol's words finally calmed Carol down a little.
Gritting her teeth, she picked the gauntlet back up.
"I learned from the Kree Empire that Thanos had revived and was attacking Earth! And by then all of you were already back alive! But when I rushed here, the half of the Kree Empire that died still hadn't come back!"
She held up the gauntlet and kept questioning the group.
"What exactly did you do? Where are the two missing stones? We have to get them back and snap again, because that damn fool left out every life except those on Earth and Asgard!"
She finished and glared angrily at the assembled Avengers.
Everyone who had just been brought back turned their eyes toward Iron Man, Captain America, and Banner. After all, those three were the original Avengers and had never disappeared.
Tony frowned deeply. A bad feeling was forming in his chest.
While he was still thinking, the straightforward Captain America gave the answer.
"God… did Mr. Heisenberg forget about everyone else in the universe? But that shouldn't be his fault. He didn't know exactly what Thanos's original snap did, so when he snapped he probably only thought about our own people!"
Hearing Captain America's explanation, Carol Danvers nodded unhappily.
"So he's the one who snapped? You people are really bold, handing something like this to an outsider from another universe! I won't hold him responsible because he did bring all of you on Earth back. So let's forget about that for now!"
As she spoke she raised the gauntlet again.
"Now answer my other question. Where are the two missing stones, the Mind Stone and the Time Stone? We need to find them and snap the universe back to its original state! Don't worry, I'll be the one snapping. You won't have to bear the backlash!"
The moment she finished speaking her words sparked widespread dissatisfaction.
The tone she used was nothing short of naked mockery to this group of superheroes.
"Hey, lady, who the hell are you anyway? And why should you be the one snapping? How do we know you're not an outsider? I've never even seen you before!"
Little Spider grumbled, and Wanda nodded in agreement not far away.
"That's right. None of us have seen you. Where did you even come from?"
"Exactly. You showed up way too suddenly! Tony, can you confirm who she is?"
Valkyrie asked as well.
At the same time the king of Wakanda, Black Panther, spoke up plainly on behalf of Earth's strongest fighting force.
"They're right, ma'am. You had better explain your identity to us!"
The moment he finished, Carol suddenly felt like she was being pointed at and questioned by a thousand people.
Captain America quickly stepped in to explain for her.
"There's no need for this. We're all Avengers. This is Ms. Carol Danvers, an old friend of Fury's. During the years when everyone disappeared she helped us a great deal!"
But his words were not well received. Wanda immediately shot back unhappily.
"Old friend? Heh. Where was she when Vision died at Thanos's hands? Where was she when Thanos snapped? And where was she during the fight just now? Is she always this good at showing up late?"
/-\
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