"Shit."

The word slipped out like a sigh—low, sharp, bitter.

"So we really have to go there now?"

The man in the passenger seat leaned back heavily in his seat, glasses slightly askew, hands resting on his lap as if holding the weight of the world. He stared at the road ahead, but his eyes were focused far beyond the windshield—on memories, on threats, on gods wearing capes.

Beside him, Steve Rogers' expression was grim, carved from stone. His broad shoulders were rigid, and his jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like it might snap.

"If the Tesseract isn't with S.H.I.E.L.D., then Homelander has it."

His voice was calm, but beneath that calm was a storm.

A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the hum of the engine and the quiet rustle of trees lining the deserted road.

"Cap, our luck is just fantastic, isn't it?"

The man beside him pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.

"Out of all the cosmic nightmares, of all the timelines, of all the damn people we could've crossed paths with… it had to be him."

Tony Stark.

But not the wisecracking, cocky billionaire most people remembered.

This was an older Tony. A man who had seen too many wars, lost too many friends, buried too many pieces of himself. His suit was gone, but the weight of it still clung to him.

"Believe me, Stark, I'm not thrilled either."

Steve gave a humorless snort, hands gripping the steering wheel just a little too tightly. The leather groaned under his fingers.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Tony's lips curled into a crooked smirk.

"You've been pummeled by Homelander before. Multiple times. How many was it again? Three? Four?"

Steve didn't flinch.

"So have you."

"Yeah, well, which Avenger hasn't gotten their ass handed to them by that flying maniac?" Tony scoffed.

"Thor had it worse. Not only did Homelander beat him, he dragged Loki back to Asgard for a 'personal chat' with Odin. I still wonder if the All-Father got a taste too."

Steve's lips twitched despite himself.

"Shame Thor storms off every time we bring it up."

The mood soured again, like a cloud passing over the sun.

Memories bubbled to the surface—brutal, bloody, unforgettable.

The time Homelander tore through a helicarrier like it was paper.

The way his heat vision melted Hulk's skin.

The way they all felt when he stared at them—not like people, but like insects.

"He was a nightmare," Tony said quietly.

Steve said nothing. He didn't need to.

They both remembered.

"Stark, we don't have a choice." Steve said finally, eyes on the road but voice full of resolve.

"We need that Tesseract to bring everyone back."

"The world is counting on us."

Tony looked at him for a long time. Then he gave a slight nod.

"Yeah. The world's counting on us."

His voice was softer this time. Not bitter. Not sarcastic. Just… tired.

"Look on the bright side," Steve said, trying for optimism, though it came out strained.

"This is the 1960s. Homelander's just starting out. He might not be as strong as we remember."

Tony adjusted his glasses with a slow, practiced motion.

"Normally, I'd agree." He paused, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"But Homelander isn't normal. We can't assume anything."

The words hung in the air like smoke.

Then—

"But… we don't have to face him directly."

Tony leaned forward, his fingers dancing over a small touchpad embedded in his sleeve.

"We wait until he's gone. However long it takes, time won't pass back home. We've got the leash."

Steve took a moment. Then nodded.

"Then that's the plan."

---

Outside Alex's Base.

Their vehicle pulled into the wooded perimeter near the edge of the mutant base—an unmarked black car, retrofitted with Stark's future tech and cloaked in enough dampeners to hide from satellites.

The two men stepped out into the cool dusk air, the forest around them eerily silent.

Steve's boots crunched on gravel as he scanned the treeline.

"Alright, Stark. Recon first."

Tony rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck.

"On it."

From a compartment in his jacket, he pulled a sleek metal sphere—small enough to fit in his palm, but humming with energy.

"Little guy's been waiting for a field test."

He flicked it gently across the ground. It rolled forward, clicked once, and then—

SHHHRRRR—

A dozen mechanical flies burst out of it, their wings beating in perfect synchronicity. They took to the air like shadows, glinting faintly in the light.

"BZZZZT."

"Got it." Tony tapped his glasses, and the feed lit up inside the lenses.

The tiny drones slipped past trees, glided through windows, crept under doorways—undetectable.

"They're in."

"Homelander's inside," Tony said abruptly, voice tense.

Steve turned.

"Did he spot the drones?"

"Cap, have a little faith. These babies are about sixty years too advanced for him. He's clueless."

"Good. Ignore him. Find the Tesseract."

"Working on it." Tony's voice dropped as he began scrolling through footage, commanding the swarm with subtle movements of his hands.

---

Inside the Base.

In the war room beneath the compound, Alex stood by a tall digital interface, one hand lightly resting on the edge of the table.

He wasn't looking at the screen.

He was listening.

To voices.

Outside.

"...Cap..."

"...Tesseract..."

His expression darkened slightly.

Super hearing was a gift and a curse. You never knew what you'd overhear.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

"Those voices…"

His eyes narrowed.

"Stark. Rogers."

Recognition hit like a lightning bolt.

They sounded exactly like the voices he'd heard in old footage. Heroes from another time. But that was impossible.

Steve Rogers was still frozen in ice.

Tony Stark hadn't even been born yet.

Unless…

"Time travelers."

The thought wasn't absurd anymore—not in this world.

Not after everything he'd seen.

And if they were here, now—if they were looking for the Tesseract—

Then that meant the future had changed.

That meant the timeline he remembered no longer applied.

Because in the history he knew, the Tesseract had been locked in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vault.

But this time?

It was in his hands.

And he wasn't about to let it go.

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