Wanda and Pietro looked at Ethan in front of them. They simply could not connect this beautiful child, who looked to be in his early teens, with the identity Tony Stark had just mentioned.
And...
"Wait, Ethan... the Avengers' profile doesn't look like this, does it?"
Although Pietro and Wanda were not yet official members, after a period of training, the Avengers had acknowledged their potential. Internal information had been made accessible to them, and they were even brought along on missions, considered as interns gaining experience.
It could be said that the Avengers had already reached a consensus. The two were essentially confirmed to become official members.
The Avengers were no longer a purely civilian organization. To become an official member, a report still had to be submitted to the authorities for approval, but the relationship between the Avengers and the government was currently very positive, so these reports were just a formality.
"Due to some special reasons, I became like this, and it looks like I'll have to remain in this state for quite a while."
Ethan spread his hands. He was also helpless. If he could, he would very much like to return to his adult appearance immediately.
"An accident while researching magic?"
Pietro had not studied magic and had no understanding of what his sister usually dealt with. However, modern people generally had some awareness of mystical matters, so his first guess was that Ethan had been affected by an accident during magic research.
"Something like that."
Ethan pointed at Pietro. Although that answer was not exactly true, it was enough to satisfy curiosity for now.
Since they were not very familiar with him, and with the added awkwardness of Wanda being Tony's student while Ethan was Tony's teacher, Wanda did not know how to talk to him. Keeping them around was just making it uncomfortable for the young people, so after a bit of casual conversation, Tony let them go handle their own business.
Now, only Ethan, Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark remained in the lounge.
"I heard from Bruce. You're here to tell me you've established a stable passage?"
"Yes."
"You should've done this long ago, you know? Sometimes it's a huge hassle to find you. But now? It's perfect. I can go over whenever I want, and you can come here anytime."
"I could already come here anytime."
Tony waved his hand. "That's not the point. The point is, when I want to find you, I don't have to send a message like filing an application and then wait for a reply."
Ethan suddenly realized that Tony had never actually asked him to come pick him up. Maybe it was because he simply didn't like being on someone else's schedule.
"So that's how it is."
Tony did not feel embarrassed at being figured out. On the contrary, he proudly admitted it was exactly because of that.
"This is great. So, how do I get over to your side?"
"There are a few options."
Ethan explained several methods. One was linking with Luna's main computer and having her use the teleportation device aboard Artemis to teleport him directly.
Another was using spatial magic to connect with the teleportation circle Ethan had already set up, which would allow Tony to activate the teleportation himself and arrive on the ship.
"There's also another method. I give you the coordinates for my world, and you travel there using your own abilities. Of course, where you land using that method would be completely random."
For Tony, the first option was still too much like being dependent on others. That alone meant he would not pick it.
The last method actually included two different approaches. One was like Ethan, breaking through the plane barrier with his own power to teleport across worlds. The other was to borrow Ethan's spatial route.
Even in this Marvel Universe, very few could travel through this route even with Ethan's help. The dimensional rift Ethan had opened was not very large, and the core of that passage relied on Ethan's space-time power. This meant that if Ethan did not allow it, no one could pass through, even if their personal power surpassed his. As for those capable of forcibly breaking through a plane barrier, there was no point worrying about them.
This was why Ethan felt confident in linking the two worlds.
"So you're planning to build a teleportation device?"
"At least this way I can go whenever I want, without needing a reply from your side."
"Whatever makes you happy."
Ethan handed Tony a small portable hard drive. Inside was the structure of the teleportation device and various supporting data, including a wealth of advanced spatial magic theory. Even if Tony could not understand everything right away, simply building the device based on the blueprint would still benefit his personal development in magic.
"Besides here, are you also going to Asgard?"
"Yes. I also need to stop by Thor's place."
Compared to Tony, who preferred combining magic with technology to build teleportation devices, Thor's situation was a little different. The key point was that Stormbreaker already had the ability to open the Bifrost, which was itself a form of teleportation magic.
Since Thor was very familiar with how the Bifrost functioned, Ethan's job was simply to add a 'destination' to it so Thor could teleport to Ethan's world at will.
"When are you planning to go?"
Ethan noticed Tony staring intently at the hard drive. It was obvious he couldn't wait to study the contents. Ethan did not offer to help, and Tony clearly wasn't planning to ask either.
"I'll go now. I figure Thor will keep me for a few days, and then I'll come back... Should I find you here or at your home?"
Tony was no longer handling Stark Industries business directly. Research on most of his new technologies had also slowed down, which was why he had the time and energy to take Wanda as his student and personally teach her.
"Come find me at home. I expect I'll be busy researching this for a while."
After the main business was settled, Ethan chatted with Bruce Banner for a while, asking what his plans were going forward.
Bruce said he was quite satisfied with life aboard Artemis, but Tony believed the Avengers still needed him.
"You know the Hulk no longer exists, right? I merged with the Hulk. While I can still transform, my strength is nowhere near what it used to be."
"I know. But I never cared about the Hulk. For the Avengers, your intellect is far more valuable."
There were a good number of capable fighters in the Avengers, but in terms of research and support, besides Tony, there was no one else.
Because of this, Tony had specifically recruited Dr. Cho as the Avengers' medical advisor. The cost of that was Tony personally funding her research.
Just now, Tony had gone to the equipment warehouse for more than just an excuse to escape. Dr. Cho was working on building more advanced medical equipment for the base, and an issue with scheduling had come up, so Tony had to help sort it out.
"Dr. Cho?"
"You should meet her. She's a genius, a top expert in nanotechnology on Earth... though still not as good as me."
Ethan curled his lip. If Tony had not followed him and bought a load of alien tech, he would've had to wait until Dr. Cho independently developed stable nanotech before he could do anything with it.
In that regard, Dr. Cho was indeed a genius on the same level as Tony.
"I'll probably get the chance to meet her."
Since she was already working as the Avengers' medical advisor, she would show up at the base often, so it wouldn't be difficult to cross paths with her.
Just then, Steve Rogers walked into the lounge.
"I heard Ethan is here?"
Steve looked at Tony, Bruce, and a young boy sitting there.
"Uh... Ethan?"
"It's me. Long time no see, Steve."
Steve was stunned for quite a while and even rubbed his eyes.
"This isn't some kind of illusion, right? Is this a prank?"
"No, it's due to some special circumstances. You can think of it as an enhancement. My body was reforged into a divine body, but the process turned me into a child."
Steve rubbed his forehead and shook his head.
"Sounds like a headache. And this divine stuff..."
"Just take it as a higher lifeform."
"Alright, whatever. As long as it's really you. I've seen enough strange things by now."
Steve had developed a much higher tolerance. Nothing really surprised him anymore.
Ethan explained the purpose of his visit and said that now that the passage had been established, they could contact him directly in the future if needed.
"I hope we never need to."
If the current Avengers were not enough to solve a problem, it meant the enemy was extremely powerful. If they had to call on Thor or Ethan, it would mean Earth was in grave danger.
It would be better if that day never came.
"Probably... there won't be any more like that..."
Ethan thought about it. Most of the major events in this world had already been disrupted by him. The plot of Avengers: Age of Ultron never happened. Tony had never even conceived of creating Ultron.
As for Hydra, it was no longer a serious threat. The only real enemies remaining that could threaten Earth were Thanos and Dormammu.
"Almost forgot about that guy."
Considering the timeline, it seemed the Ancient One's issue would soon need to be resolved too.
(To be continued.)