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Chapter 558: Time's Retaliation
Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony sat on the lawn while his two dogs frolicked, running around happily.
A red figure appeared in an instant. A few seconds later, a powerful gust of wind rushed in, blowing over a large swath of flowers and plants.
"If that Old Bartender were still alive, he'd pull out a rocket launcher and blast you to bits."
Tony tilted his head, his eyelids drooping as he looked with heartache at the poor flowers and plants that had been knocked askew.
Krypto glanced at The Flash with indifference before continuing to run in circles. Cosmo, on the other hand, was full of spirit. Perhaps feeling emboldened with Tony as his backer, he barked fiercely at The Flash.
Wanda happened to come out carrying a plate of fruit and looked with surprise at the suddenly appearing Flash.
"You, barging into someone's home without so much as a hello. That's not a good habit," Wanda said, a little displeased.
The Flash scratched his head, only to touch his smooth Hood. He looked embarrassed. "Oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry, but I came to find..."
"Alright, Wanda, I have something to discuss with this kid," Tony said, stroking his chin as he looked at The Flash with amusement.
"I want to listen, too," Wanda said, glaring at him.
"No, there are some things you can't know..." Tony put on a stern face, but it quickly melted into a bitter, doting smile. "Alright, alright, I'll explain the specific reasons to you later, but there's some content you really can't know."
Wanda placed the platter down hard in front of Tony and walked away in a huff.
With a flick of his fingers, Tony threw out two portals, sending Krypto and Cosmo away.
"Mr. Tony, I think we should have met before... In fact, I've come to find you about something important." The Flash hesitated for a moment before taking off his Hood, revealing a young and nervous face.
For some reason, facing this version of Tony, he felt an inexplicable tension and unease in his heart.
"Have we met? Are you mistaken? At this point in time, I have never met you... According to my plan, I was going to make a trip to Central City soon to find Dr. Harrison. We were supposed to meet then."
Tony picked up an apple and took a bite, then grabbed another and tossed it to Barry.
Barry's expression froze in an instant, a look of shock and regret on his face.
Come to think of it, that was right... in his favorite coffee shop in Central City...
Damn it!
Barry was incredibly annoyed.
"I mean, I've seen you on the news often, sir," Barry said quickly, taking a bite of the apple as if acting more relaxed would prove he was telling the truth.
Tony gave him an interested look and suddenly asked, "How does it feel to travel through the timeline?"
"Not great... Huh?!" Barry's face was a mask of shock.
"Don't look at me like that. The timeline isn't much of a secret to me. Don't forget, I once wielded the Time Stone. Did you run into trouble in the future?"
"It's Earth that's in trouble. A terrifying enemy has attacked Earth, and we've lost many superheroes," Barry said rapidly. "We hope you can postpone your departure by half a year and help us deal with that powerful enemy."
Tony's smile slowly faded, his expression becoming blank. "You only think about solving problems by traveling through time, but have you ever considered the consequences of altering the timeline? Didn't that Harrison fellow warn you?"
"I was the one who insisted on doing this, because at that time, you—" Barry realized his mistake and immediately shut his mouth.
He couldn't just say Tony wasn't on Cybertron, could he? What if Tony pressed him for details about Cybertron? The more he said, the more unpredictable the future would become.
"Barry, everything will change," Tony interrupted. "Steppenwolf is indeed powerful, especially since the avatar he sent was a particularly powerful one. But that shouldn't be your reason for altering the timeline. Besides, I can't protect Earth forever. In the end, Earth's problems must be solved by you all yourselves."
Tony finished the apple in two or three bites.
Hmm, this apple is completely tasteless... Is it because my main body isn't at this point in time?
Tony tossed the apple core aside, ignoring Barry's dumbfounded expression as he fell into thought.
That was right. The him right now was also the him from six months in the future. Or rather, because Barry had touched the past, the Tony from six months later had returned to this point in time, a moment that was originally without incident.
When Barry performed his time travel, the effect propagated across spacetime and was clearly perceived by Tony himself.
For multiversal beings, when the past changes, they have no awareness of it. The new history overwrites the old, and the multiversal beings from the original trajectory are replaced by those of the brand-new timeline.
This was the power of temporal correction.
But this power was useless against the One-Above-All, and it was useless against Tony.
There was only one Tony, and there would only ever be one. Whether in the past or the future, no matter which parallel universe, there was only one Tony. The possibility of traveling through time to converse with a past Tony did not exist.
Because the past Tony was simply the future Tony who had returned to the past, conversing with Barry through a wisp of his will.
The timeline was ineffective against Tony. But Tony could follow the timeline, tracing Barry's steps and trajectory back to this special point in time where no accident was supposed to occur.
There is only one Tony. Anyone who tries to contact the Tony of the past or future is, in essence, contacting the Tony of the present. Nothing ever changes.
Tony was the biggest immovable fixture in the main universe. No matter how the main universe was redeveloped, no matter what shenanigans the multiverse got up to, Tony would be nailed down in place there, unmovable.
"Go back, Barry. In the future, I have already dispatched reinforcements to fight on Earth. The Green Lantern Corps will also cross countless galaxies to reach Earth and jointly resist the powerful enemy from Apokolips."
Tony tossed the apple core into the distance and stood up.
"You... How do you know?" Barry stared at Tony, dumbfounded. Everything he thought he knew was being torn apart.
"Keep this under your hat, Barry. Don't mention this conversation to anyone. The timeline is not so easily changed, and time itself will not allow anyone to toy with it. It will enact a frenzied retaliation against you, and those are consequences you cannot bear."
Tony warned in a low voice, patting Barry on the shoulder.
Time travel... It sounds simple. Any speedster who grows to a certain level can travel through time and change history. But time itself will never let these speedsters off the hook. Upon their return, the speedsters would be horrified to discover that their entire perception of reality has been insanely twisted and has collapsed.
"Time will retaliate against you, in all sorts of ways... Look, the first thing to come settle the score with you has arrived. You two were never supposed to meet."
Tony lifted his chin, looking at the Time Wraith rapidly approaching from the sky.
Upon seeing Barry, the Wraith's empty eye sockets seemed to ignite with blazing fire. It fell into a frenzy, shrieking as it ignored everyone else on its path and charged madly towards Barry.
(end of chapter)
Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony sat on the lawn while his two dogs frolicked, running around happily.
A red figure appeared in an instant. A few seconds later, a powerful gust of wind rushed in, blowing over a large swath of flowers and plants.
"If that Old Bartender were still alive, he'd pull out a rocket launcher and blast you to bits."
Tony tilted his head, his eyelids drooping as he looked with heartache at the poor flowers and plants that had been knocked askew.
Krypto glanced at The Flash with indifference before continuing to run in circles. Cosmo, on the other hand, was full of spirit. Perhaps feeling emboldened with Tony as his backer, he barked fiercely at The Flash.
Wanda happened to come out carrying a plate of fruit and looked with surprise at the suddenly appearing Flash.
"You, barging into someone's home without so much as a hello. That's not a good habit," Wanda said, a little displeased.
The Flash scratched his head, only to touch his smooth Hood. He looked embarrassed. "Oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry, but I came to find..."
"Alright, Wanda, I have something to discuss with this kid," Tony said, stroking his chin as he looked at The Flash with amusement.
"I want to listen, too," Wanda said, glaring at him.
"No, there are some things you can't know..." Tony put on a stern face, but it quickly melted into a bitter, doting smile. "Alright, alright, I'll explain the specific reasons to you later, but there's some content you really can't know."
Wanda placed the platter down hard in front of Tony and walked away in a huff.
With a flick of his fingers, Tony threw out two portals, sending Krypto and Cosmo away.
"Mr. Tony, I think we should have met before... In fact, I've come to find you about something important." The Flash hesitated for a moment before taking off his Hood, revealing a young and nervous face.
For some reason, facing this version of Tony, he felt an inexplicable tension and unease in his heart.
"Have we met? Are you mistaken? At this point in time, I have never met you... According to my plan, I was going to make a trip to Central City soon to find Dr. Harrison. We were supposed to meet then."
Tony picked up an apple and took a bite, then grabbed another and tossed it to Barry.
Barry's expression froze in an instant, a look of shock and regret on his face.
Come to think of it, that was right... in his favorite coffee shop in Central City...
Damn it!
Barry was incredibly annoyed.
"I mean, I've seen you on the news often, sir," Barry said quickly, taking a bite of the apple as if acting more relaxed would prove he was telling the truth.
Tony gave him an interested look and suddenly asked, "How does it feel to travel through the timeline?"
"Not great... Huh?!" Barry's face was a mask of shock.
"Don't look at me like that. The timeline isn't much of a secret to me. Don't forget, I once wielded the Time Stone. Did you run into trouble in the future?"
"It's Earth that's in trouble. A terrifying enemy has attacked Earth, and we've lost many superheroes," Barry said rapidly. "We hope you can postpone your departure by half a year and help us deal with that powerful enemy."
Tony's smile slowly faded, his expression becoming blank. "You only think about solving problems by traveling through time, but have you ever considered the consequences of altering the timeline? Didn't that Harrison fellow warn you?"
"I was the one who insisted on doing this, because at that time, you—" Barry realized his mistake and immediately shut his mouth.
He couldn't just say Tony wasn't on Cybertron, could he? What if Tony pressed him for details about Cybertron? The more he said, the more unpredictable the future would become.
"Barry, everything will change," Tony interrupted. "Steppenwolf is indeed powerful, especially since the avatar he sent was a particularly powerful one. But that shouldn't be your reason for altering the timeline. Besides, I can't protect Earth forever. In the end, Earth's problems must be solved by you all yourselves."
Tony finished the apple in two or three bites.
Hmm, this apple is completely tasteless... Is it because my main body isn't at this point in time?
Tony tossed the apple core aside, ignoring Barry's dumbfounded expression as he fell into thought.
That was right. The him right now was also the him from six months in the future. Or rather, because Barry had touched the past, the Tony from six months later had returned to this point in time, a moment that was originally without incident.
When Barry performed his time travel, the effect propagated across spacetime and was clearly perceived by Tony himself.
For multiversal beings, when the past changes, they have no awareness of it. The new history overwrites the old, and the multiversal beings from the original trajectory are replaced by those of the brand-new timeline.
This was the power of temporal correction.
But this power was useless against the One-Above-All, and it was useless against Tony.
There was only one Tony, and there would only ever be one. Whether in the past or the future, no matter which parallel universe, there was only one Tony. The possibility of traveling through time to converse with a past Tony did not exist.
Because the past Tony was simply the future Tony who had returned to the past, conversing with Barry through a wisp of his will.
The timeline was ineffective against Tony. But Tony could follow the timeline, tracing Barry's steps and trajectory back to this special point in time where no accident was supposed to occur.
There is only one Tony. Anyone who tries to contact the Tony of the past or future is, in essence, contacting the Tony of the present. Nothing ever changes.
Tony was the biggest immovable fixture in the main universe. No matter how the main universe was redeveloped, no matter what shenanigans the multiverse got up to, Tony would be nailed down in place there, unmovable.
"Go back, Barry. In the future, I have already dispatched reinforcements to fight on Earth. The Green Lantern Corps will also cross countless galaxies to reach Earth and jointly resist the powerful enemy from Apokolips."
Tony tossed the apple core into the distance and stood up.
"You... How do you know?" Barry stared at Tony, dumbfounded. Everything he thought he knew was being torn apart.
"Keep this under your hat, Barry. Don't mention this conversation to anyone. The timeline is not so easily changed, and time itself will not allow anyone to toy with it. It will enact a frenzied retaliation against you, and those are consequences you cannot bear."
Tony warned in a low voice, patting Barry on the shoulder.
Time travel... It sounds simple. Any speedster who grows to a certain level can travel through time and change history. But time itself will never let these speedsters off the hook. Upon their return, the speedsters would be horrified to discover that their entire perception of reality has been insanely twisted and has collapsed.
"Time will retaliate against you, in all sorts of ways... Look, the first thing to come settle the score with you has arrived. You two were never supposed to meet."
Tony lifted his chin, looking at the Time Wraith rapidly approaching from the sky.
Upon seeing Barry, the Wraith's empty eye sockets seemed to ignite with blazing fire. It fell into a frenzy, shrieking as it ignored everyone else on its path and charged madly towards Barry.
(end of chapter)
