Chapter 333: Loki — "Wait, Am I Not Clean Anymore?!"
"That ugly alien woman standing in the back — something's off about her, isn't there?" Strange asked cautiously, catching up to Ethan as he stepped outside.
"Oh? How'd you notice?" Ethan didn't bother denying it.
A man as careful as Strange had obviously been watching the whole group closely. The moment Ethan had dropped that line about more than one lost teammate, Strange had clearly caught the way that Nebula in the back had flinched — just a flicker, but there.
On its own, that might have meant nothing. But Strange was nothing if not a paranoid old hand at this kind of thing, and he'd already noticed she was actively trying to keep herself unnoticed.
Strange could tell right away: this Nebula didn't belong here either, same as the two of them.
Combined with Ethan's earlier remark, the pieces clicked instantly for someone as sharp as Strange.
As for which faction she actually belonged to — Strange didn't need to think twice. Obviously Thanos's.
An alien that blue, that ugly — he'd literally seen a whole army of them just days ago in Manhattan.
As for why none of the Avengers had noticed — Strange's best guess was that this Nebula had swapped in for the real one somewhere along their trip through the parallel universes.
Strange couldn't help but grumble internally, once again, about how genuinely dim this world's superheroes were.
Could a team with brainpower like that really be trusted to protect an entire planet?
This world was dangerous on two fronts — brutally strong enemies, and teammates about as sharp as a sack of hammers.
Whatever version of Strange had existed in this world clearly hadn't had a fighting chance with company like this.
Wait — no. This world's Strange was already dead!
Nope, nope. I need to get out of here, fast. Strange had no intention of following in that Strange's footsteps.
With that thought, he turned to Ethan. "Well — the Time Stone's already been handed over, and I've made my appearance. I think that's my part done. Ethan, I'll be heading back now.
Just remember to grab the Time Stone back once they're finished using it. I trust you completely on this one!"
With that, Strange made to leave this cursed place entirely.
"Not so fast — you can't even get back without me," Ethan said, giving the panicked Strange a flat look. "Don't you want to ask why I didn't call out that Nebula just now?" It was clear Strange had already pieced something together — otherwise he wouldn't be in such a hurry to bolt.
"No. I don't want to know. I don't want to hear it either."
"I just want to go find somewhere to hide out until this whole thing's over!" Strange had already opened a portal by the time he finished the sentence.
Only for Ethan to freeze him solid on the spot.
"No — you actually want to know, badly. The whole point of this trip wasn't just to fetch the remaining Stones. I also came to size up exactly how strong Thanos actually is. You're staying right here. Unless you'd rather find out one day you die at Thanos's hands too, since this timeline's version of you already did. And don't forget — our own world has a Thanos of its own." Ethan gripped Strange's cloak, keeping him firmly in place.
Because that was exactly why Ethan had let Nebula's presence slide in the first place — a live test run. He already knew from his own future knowledge that this particular mission was airtight, guaranteed to succeed.
So the real question was whether the gap between himself and Thanos had actually closed. If he could take Thanos down here and now, directly—
Ethan wouldn't have any objection to going straight home afterward and finishing off his own universe's Thanos personally.
And if he came up short here, well — the plot would just proceed as written. Let Tony or someone else deliver the snap that finished Thanos off.
Though Ethan suspected the former was far more likely. He already knew, thanks to his earlier trip involving Holland-Peter's world, that Tony was still alive in that timeline.
Which meant, in all probability, Ethan's own strength was already enough to take Thanos down outright.
That argument clearly landed with Strange, who — right now — cared about exactly one thing: staying alive.
Fine. It's genuinely worth scoping out Thanos's real strength. I'll just watch from a very safe distance and bolt the second things go south! Strange privately talked himself into it.
That was exactly when Fat Thor came shuffling over, sneaking up on them.
Ethan watched, curious what this rotund version of Thor could possibly want — the two of them barely knew each other.
Thor shuffled up in front of Ethan, looking uncharacteristically bashful. "So... I don't suppose you'd know how Loki and Mother are doing over in your world?"
Ever since learning Ethan hailed from a different universe entirely — one where everyone's lives had taken different paths — Thor had been dying to ask about Loki and his mother.
In this world, after all, he'd lost every single member of his family.
Ethan was more than happy to indulge the question. "They're both doing fine. In our timeline, the Dark Elves never even started their attack — your father and mother are both still alive and well."
At the news that his parents were alive, Thor let out a breath of relief — then opened his mouth to warn Ethan about something.
"Don't worry. I already know. I'm not going to let the Dark Elves kill your mother."
"As for your brother, Loki..." Ethan's expression turned unmistakably suggestive.
"What happened? Did something happen to Loki? He's actually a good kid at heart, you know — he's not really evil. If he's done something to offend you, let me apologize on his behalf right now." Reading Ethan's cryptic look, Thor immediately assumed the worst and rushed to defend his brother.
"No, no — nothing like that. Loki's probably doing fine." Truthfully, Ethan hadn't checked in on Loki's situation at all in the past few days.
The guy probably wasn't dead, at least. Probably doing... fine.
Brooklyn.
"Ugh — my head is killing me!" Loki clutched his skull, glancing around the room.
"I appear to be in some sort of room. Though calling it a 'room' is generous — a dog wouldn't even sleep in this." Loki surveyed his surroundings — not that there was much worth surveying.
Just a cramped, cell-like space, cracked walls, and a stool missing one leg.
The bed he was currently lying on didn't even have a proper frame — just a bare mattress.
The blanket looked like it had seen better decades.
This was worse than an Asgardian dungeon!
Where in the Nine Realms was he? Had someone... looted his unconscious body?
He looked down and realized his usual clothes were gone entirely — replaced with something distinctly beggar-chic, missing a sleeve.
Loki's eyes went wide with horror. "Wait — don't tell me I've been defiled!"
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