Tony stared at the watch-shaped device resting on his desk, silent and focused.
He wasn't stupid.
After Noah's explanation, he knew exactly what it was.
A beacon.
Something created by himself-or rather, a version of himself from another universe.
And there was no way its purpose was simple.
Tony understood one thing very clearly.
In parallel universes, their ways of thinking wouldn't differ much.
Different experiences, sure.
But personality? Mental habits? Problem-solving instincts?
Those would be nearly identical.
Noah had already confirmed that much.
"If I were in that position," Tony muttered, rubbing his temples, "what would I do?"
The answer came quickly.
Curiosity.
The Tony Stark on the other side was almost certainly curious about this universe.
Maybe not just one of them. Maybe several.
They wanted to come over.
To see how things turned out.
That made perfect sense.
Even if this universe was technically their "past," even if the divergence was massive, contact had already been established.
Once that happened, crossing over was the natural next step.
If Tony were them, he'd do the same thing.
That was why he had been accelerating his work.
This wasn't just research.
It was a race.
He needed to complete interdimensional travel technology before the other side acted first.
Unfortunately, he had hit a wall.
Without data from the Ant-Man suit, precisely controlling Pym Particles was nearly impossible.
Tony had never personally entered the Quantum Realm, but he knew enough to understand how dangerous it was.
He stood up and stretched.
Annoying, yes.
But not enough to shake him.
As for the Ant-Man suit data, he wasn't planning to push further.
Sending Steve and the others to steal Pym Particles had already crossed a line.
Tony wasn't thrilled about letting Steve and Bucky off so easily.
But he had given his word.
They completed the mission.
He honored the deal.
Everything else was on him.
"This is getting annoying," Tony muttered. "Do I really have to wait for them to come knocking?"
He crossed his arms, staring at the holographic screens.
The math was done.
The theory was solid.
All he lacked was the suit and the transport hardware to properly apply the particles.
Building the machine itself wasn't hard.
With the data he had, he could assemble it quickly.
But without the suit, it was meaningless.
Shaking his head, Tony let out a breath.
So what if they finished first?
"Your universe was a mess anyway," he said dryly. "If we hadn't gone over there, you wouldn't even know which way was up."
He glanced once more at the beacon and smirked before sinking back into his chair.
Work still had to continue.
Race or not.
"Knowing myself," Tony muttered, "I probably still have some time."
Everett Ross jolted awake.
The dream lingered.
Blood.
Gunfire.
Ulysses Klaue.
That memory never faded.
It sat heavy in his chest.
Everett Ross had once been a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
After retiring, he joined the CIA as a field agent.
He was good at it.
He liked the work.
Until everything went wrong.
Ulysses Klaue.
An arms dealer.
A thief.
An old acquaintance of Tony Stark's, back when Stark Industries still sold weapons.
After Tony shut that division down, their paths diverged.
Noah's appearance had altered Klaue's fate slightly.
In the original timeline, Klaue became a key supplier for Ultron.
Vibranium in exchange for billions.
He had been foolish.
He pointed out Ultron's resemblance to Stark.
That mistake cost him half his left arm.
During the Avengers' battle with Ultron, the injured Klaue escaped.
But this universe was different.
Here, Klaue was still intact.
No prosthetic. No sonic cannon.
Only Wakanda hunted him.
What hadn't changed was his obsession.
Vibranium still consumed him.
In fact, Klaue was likely the only person alive who knew Wakanda's true nature.
And that made him Everett Ross's target.
The biggest case Ross had ever taken.
Capture Klaue.
Recover the stolen Vibranium.
At first, everything went smoothly.
Under Everett's command, they made contact.
Negotiations followed.
The exchange site, however, caught Everett off guard.
A crowded bar in Milan.
That was where it all collapsed.
Klaue saw through the operation.
The arrest failed.
The bar became a slaughterhouse.
Every agent involved-except Everett-died.
Everett took a bullet to the leg.
The limp never fully healed.
After that, Klaue became infamous.
So did one of his subordinates.
Erik.
Originally an American deep-cover asset.
Naval Academy at nineteen.
MIT master's degree.
Navy SEAL.
Afghanistan.
He killed like it was a game.
That asset-the one meant to be on their side-was the most ruthless of all.
Erik turned the operation into a massacre.
Someone had to take responsibility.
Everett was dismissed.
After leaving the agency, he didn't stay in the U.S.
He went to London.
His grandfather's homeland.
He needed distance.
A reset.
None of this was something Noah had planned.
Although Noah had been looking for a "Watson" for Stephen Strange, he wouldn't engineer a tragedy like this.
At worst, he would have asked Ray to act the part.
Regardless, Everett sat up and forced the memories down.
He had no permanent residence in London yet.
Plenty to deal with.
Finding a roommate was the first step.
His luck wasn't bad.
A newspaper listing caught his eye.
Baker Street.
A long road in London's West End, designed in the late eighteenth century by Edward Berkeley Portman and named after Edward Baker.
The street was famous.
Legend said a powerful Exorcist Agency operated there.
Everett had once dismissed such stories.
Not anymore.
After the alien invasion.
After sorcerers revealed themselves.
After Manhattan nearly sank.
Belief was no longer optional.
He sighed, stood, and grabbed the cane by his bed.
Half an hour later, he was dressed in a neat suit and heading out.
The man he was meeting was named Sherlock Holmes.
Potential roommate.
Complete stranger.
They were meeting at the British Museum.
Close to Baker Street.
Public. Neutral.
A safe choice.
Everett hailed a cab and looked out the window as London passed by.
Old stone buildings.
Modern traffic.
Children in black wizard robes ran along the sidewalk, pretending to cast spells.
Everett found it strangely amusing.
"That magic movie really left an impact," he thought. "Especially here."
Hogwarts.
Wasn't it supposed to be in Britain?
He shook his head.
The magical world felt distant.
Right now, he had something more immediate to deal with.
The man he was about to meet.
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