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## SHIELD Headquarters, New York City
The SHIELD headquarters building in New York City had escaped the devastation of the recent battle. Thanks to its location away from the central conflict zone, a high-level defense system, and the concentrated efforts of numerous SHIELD agents and staff, the building remained largely intact.
While the surrounding streets lay in ruins, the headquarters buzzed with activity. Agents and staff worked tirelessly to deal with the aftermath of the battle. In the top floor conference room, members of the Avengers had gathered with the captured Loki and the seized Tesseract to discuss their next steps.
No one in the conference room noticed a figure approaching from the sky. A golden silhouette with its silent engine slipped silently through an open window and into the hall.
Hidden behind a decorative wooden frame, the figure cautiously stepped forward. Shedding the Iron Man armor revealed the weathered face and middle-aged body of Tony Stark from the future.
Future Tony, hiding behind the frame, peered through a crack at the scene in the conference room. Loki, bound in chains, was surrounded by Steve Rogers, Thor, Hulk, Eddie, Natasha, Clint, and Sam.
“Mr. Stark, aren’t you an Avenger? Why aren’t you in there?” Ant-Man whispered, perched on Tony’s left shoulder, his armor shrunken to ant size.
Future Tony looked at him and spoke while keeping his voice low. “The me from back then isn’t here. He’s probably in the Galaxy or on Nova, along with my Godfather and my father.”
“The Galaxy? Cool! I’d love to explore space one day!” Ant-Man said, his curiosity piqued.
“You’re already time traveling, so broaden your horizons beyond just space. Now focus on the mission!” Tony replied, finding Ant-Man’s chatter as relentless as Spider-Man’s.
“Got it, got it,” Ant-Man nodded, finally falling silent.
Both future heroes fixed their gaze on the silver briefcase on the conference table, which was emitting a mysterious blue glow – the Tesseract.
Taking a deep breath, Future Tony tapped his black-framed glasses and scanned the contents of the briefcase to confirm that it was indeed the Tesseract. He then activated his communicator and reported, “Captain, can you hear me? I’ve located the Space Stone. We’re ready to proceed. What’s your status?”
“I haven’t found Caesar yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I do,” Came the reply.
At the other end, the future Steve Rogers, dressed in his classic blue suit and holding his iconic shield, hid behind the rubble near the headquarters. He watched people come and go with a determined expression on his face.
In 2012 New York, Caesar Carl was the key figure associated with the Mind Stone. But finding him in this timeline was a daunting task. Caesar’s movements were unpredictable; he could be in midtown one moment and across the Atlantic the next.
“Wait…” Future Steve muttered, remembering something Kyle had once said: Caesar, even in this time, had reached a pinnacle of power. With Superman’s hearing and sight, he could see everything that happened in New York if he wanted to.
Given these abilities, if Caesar were in New York, he would surely know of their presence from the future.
“So the best strategy is not to look for Caesar, but to wait for him to find me?” Steve wondered aloud. Suddenly he felt a chill on the back of his neck as a hand from behind tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Captain, you’re absolutely right,” A young but confident voice said.
Steve turned to find himself face to face with Caesar, who had approached him quietly.
“Caesar!” Future Steve exclaimed, then quickly collected himself. “No, I should call you ‘Kyle,’ right?”
Caesar was not surprised that the future knew his true identity. “Call me ‘Caesar. ‘Kyle’ is my original, and there is a significant difference between us.”
Future Steve, relieved to see Caesar, asked, “Wait, how did you know I was from the future? I haven’t said anything yet!”
He originally thought that he would have to go through a lot of trouble to explain himself when he met Caesar from the current timeline, but he didn’t realize that Caesar already knew almost everything.
“Not only do I know you’re from the future, but I know you’re here for the Mind Stone,” Caesar replied.
“You must have met Banner,” Future Steve realized.
“Yes. I gave him the Mind Stone and he has already returned to your timeline with it and the Time Stone.”
“That’s great news!” Future Steve was overjoyed. Their mission was two-thirds complete.
“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Caesar was about to say about the problem of the original Space Stone not being here when the communicator worn by Future Steve suddenly rang.
Future Steve answered and heard Tony’s frantic voice, “Captain, bad news! We screwed up. Loki has escaped with the Tesseract!”
“What?!” Future Steve was shocked. They couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Caesar, feeling exasperated, thought about how Loki’s escape could possibly distract Thanos with an empty Tesseract.
“Captain, have Tony and the others meet us here. I have vital information for you,” Caesar said.
Future Steve hesitated, then asked urgently, “Caesar, we’re here for the Space Stone, but now that the Tesseract is gone…”
Caesar shook his head, interrupting him. “What I have to tell you is about the Space Stone. Without my information, you could search for a lifetime and never find it.”
(End of Chapter)
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