As they prepared to leave, Natasha narrowed her eyes and glanced at the quiet figure leaning against the far wall. Her instincts kicked in—she had worked with spies, assassins, and soldiers long enough to sense when someone was deliberately staying in the background.
She turned slightly and asked, "Wait… who is he, exactly?"
Steve looked over at Max for the first time with suspicion as well.
"Yeah. You've been awfully quiet. Who are you?"
"Name's Max Ryder. You can just call me Max," he said calmly.
Scott chimed in, "He was there when I got out of the Quantum Realm… like he knew I was coming out."
"I can sense spatial shifts," Max explained. "I found you and waited. Though, I had been searching for some weeks before I finally located you."
Scott glanced at him, confused but intrigued.
"Speaking of which," Bruce added, "I didn't know you, but you seem to know a lot about us. So… who are you really?"
Max paused, then smirked faintly. "Hmph. I'm not much of a talker… and as for what I am, you're better off not asking."
As he said that, his eyes briefly flashed violet. For a split second, faint energy rippled across his skin—dark threads laced with light, as if something vast and ancient stirred within him. It was subtle, but not entirely hidden.
"What was that?" Scott asked, blinking.
Max shrugged. "My true power? Let's just say… at full capacity, I could've undone the Snap myself—without the help of Infinity Stones. I can shred a galaxy… or breathe life into one."
Natasha narrowed her eyes. "So why are you really here?"
Max sighed, his expression hardening slightly. "Because some idiot used the Infinity Stones and then destroyed them. Using them was fine… but destroying them? That's where things went wrong."
He glanced around the room, his voice growing more serious.
"I need them back. Without the Stones, the balance of this entire reality is collapsing. The universe will wither away into entropy—total apocalypse. And I'm here to stop that."
He looked over at Scott.
"And finding you? That was step one."
Steve crossed his arms. "But why would a being of your… status… help us? What's in it for you?"
Max chuckled. "Just something simple."
"What?" Steve asked, frowning slightly.
Max grinned. "Food. Humans make the best food in the multiverse."
The room went quiet for a second as everyone blinked.
Max continued with a smirk, "I mean, between all my powers, there's not much left to enjoy in life—except for sex… and food. You guys happen to excel at both."
Scott choked slightly. Bruce just raised an eyebrow. Natasha muttered under her breath, "Of course."
Steve rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly. "You're seriously telling me you're here to save the universe… for food?"
Max tilted his head with a smirk. "Partially. I mean, preserving all of existence is important too—but why not enjoy a well-cooked steak while doing it?"
Bruce leaned over to Natasha and whispered, "I think he might be serious."
Scott raised a hand. "Okay but… like, if you're that powerful, why not just recreate the Stones yourself?"
Max glanced at him. "Because they're not just power sources. They're cosmic anchors. Tied to the core laws of this reality. Even I can't replicate them without causing irreversible damage."
Natasha crossed her arms again, studying him. "So this isn't just a side mission for you."
Max nodded, his expression turning more solemn. "No. If the balance breaks too far, this universe will unravel. Slowly. Quietly. Until it's just… dust."
"then where can I get my favorite food?"
A heavy silence settled over the group.
Steve finally spoke. "Alright. Then we don't waste time."
Natsh and Bruce nodded following after him while Scott looked at them and said " are we really going to ignore his second sentence about food?' he asked as they shook theri heads and continued to move out.
" Lets just go and save the Universe, now there is more at stake" Steve said.
Bruce nodded. "Tony's the key. He's been off the grid, living with his family. He won't want to get involved."
Natasha pulled a coat off the rack. "But he will. He always does when it counts."
Scott looked between them. "Should I come?"
Steve shook his head. "Not yet. Let us talk to him first. Too many people might push him away."
"Okay then, I'll wait here," Max said as he sat down at the desk, casually grabbing a peanut butter sandwich from a nearby plate. "He'll probably just call your whole pitch bullshit until he runs his own scans and finds out it can actually work."
He took a bite of the sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.
"This is... quite good," he added with a mouthful. "You Earth people really nailed the basics."
"Okay then," Steve nodded, and the others followed him out, heading toward the car.
Back inside the base, Max spun around in the chair and fired up the computer, his fingers moving quickly across the holographic keyboard.
"They should have games on this thing, right?" he muttered, scanning through files and local networks. "Come on, even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents need to unwind…"
Meanwhile, in the transport, Natasha sat in the passenger seat, glancing out the window. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she tapped her finger thoughtfully against the tablet in her lap.
"Why is it," she mused aloud, "the more powerful someone is… the more eccentric they get?"
Bruce chuckled softly from the back seat. "I don't know, Nat. Maybe after a certain power level, sanity becomes optional."
Steve, focused on the road, simply grunted. "Let's just hope he stays bored and doesn't accidentally delete our planet."
The car continued down the winding road, the trees thinning as they approached a quiet lakeside cabin—Tony Stark's peaceful retreat from a world he once helped defend.
The car rolled to a stop at the edge of the gravel path, just outside a modern yet rustic lakeside cabin. The tranquil sound of water lapping against the shore contrasted sharply with the tension in the air. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, unaware of the fate of half the universe—or the conversation about to take place.
***
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