It didn't take long for the Natasha from the parallel universe to wake up, exactly as Noah had predicted.
Since he was already committed, Noah had made sure to cast a few specialized spells to hasten her recovery.
When she opened her eyes, the parallel-universe Natasha was completely disoriented.
Seeing a group of Avengers surrounding her didn't help-especially when she saw herself standing among them.
If Fat Thor hadn't stepped in to smooth things over, things might have gotten very messy.
In truth, Noah didn't think it would have escalated too far.
He stopped paying attention soon after.
He trusted the Avengers to explain everything clearly to her.
What interested him now was Tony's progress.
Tony had already prepared nearly everything, yet he still hadn't acted, which made Noah unsure what he was planning.
A device capable of traveling to parallel universes was far too versatile.
Even Noah had his own ideas about it.
Technically, Noah could search for space-time gates himself.
With the Star of Time and Space, he could open a passage and step into a parallel universe.
But the uncertainty was far too great.
If he accidentally entered a Prime Universe-especially something like the Marvel Ultimate Universe-getting out could become extremely difficult.
It was better to avoid unnecessary danger.
Why take risks when peace was an option?
"I'm almost ready, but I still need time to calibrate," Tony replied directly when Noah asked.
"The Tony from that universe didn't have time for perfect adjustments. They were in a rush. On top of that, they didn't have spare Pym Particles for that version of me to study."
"My situation is different. I'm aiming for perfection."
Noah nodded.
That parallel universe truly hadn't given Tony any room to experiment.
Dr. Pym had been erased by the Snap.
The remaining Pym Particles had been exhausted during Banner's tests and Scott's clumsy mistakes.
In the end, they had only one round-trip opportunity per person.
One chance.
If they'd had more resources, that Tony's plan might have been even more refined.
"So precise positioning won't be an issue?" Noah thought for a moment, then asked.
"We won't have a repeat of Mr. Banner's mishap?"
"That's exactly what I'm fixing," Tony said, gesturing vaguely.
"I don't want something that unlucky happening again."
"Even if we survived a bad landing, the real risk is something going wrong during transit. That would be tragic."
If you land safely but end up in a problematic universe, that's even worse, Noah thought.
Then he asked what he actually cared about.
"Can you locate other universes? For example, the Star Wars-type universe I visited last time?"
"A parallel galactic universe?" Tony rubbed his chin.
"Honestly, I always felt that one didn't quite fit the definition. It completely breaks our understanding."
"But if you say it's a parallel universe, then fine. I haven't studied it specifically yet, but I do have the concept."
Seeing Tony's energized expression, Noah suddenly suspected he had some ideas of his own.
Thinking back, this universe's culture was fairly interesting.
In terms of entertainment, it was almost identical to the Earth from Noah's previous life.
The main differences were the presence of superheroes and the absence of Marvel-related works.
Everything else existed.
Of course, there was likely no Harry Potter here.
This world already had a magical system.
And a far more terrifying one.
Which meant Tony would definitely know about certain fictional characters.
For example, there was a comic character whose background was strikingly similar to Tony's.
Tony even narcissistically believed that character had been modeled after him.
Bruce Wayne.
The famous billionaire who built his own equipment to fight crime as the Dark Knight.
The premises of Iron Man and Batman were undeniably similar.
In Noah's past life, they had been endlessly compared.
Both were absurdly rich.
Both had a sense of justice.
Both relied on self-made technology.
The difference lay in personality.
One was a flawed man.
The other, almost saintlike.
Still, both were wildly popular.
Though in terms of relatability, Iron Man-the imperfect human-tended to be more beloved.
If those two billionaires ever met, who knew what would happen?
Noah rubbed his chin.
In the end, he chose not to say anything.
Tony could figure it out himself.
Even Noah found the idea interesting.
Patting Tony on the shoulder, he said, "Good. Keep going."
"Why do I feel like there's something strange in your eyes?" Tony asked.
His intuition was sharp-perhaps sharpened by prolonged exposure to magic.
"Nothing," Noah said with a shrug.
"Just do your best. Maybe we'll find an interesting world to visit later."
He meant it.
If all the troublesome matters were resolved, Noah wouldn't mind traveling elsewhere for fun.
It could count as broadening his horizons.
That was assuming Tony could build the device properly and lock onto the correct destination.
If they landed somewhere wrong, it would be disastrous.
After some idle conversation, Noah led the Asgardian quintet back to Asgard.
With today's task complete, he needed to prepare for what came next.
Looking at the silent Hela, Noah felt a growing irritation.
Her strength was indeed slowly recovering now that she had returned to Asgard.
But reaching her peak would take a long time.
She was wasting his time.
And time was what Noah lacked the most.
Being stuck at this bottleneck was unbearable.
Although the system had preserved a backup of the insights gained from fighting Dormammu, perceiving them again would likely require being killed repeatedly by Dormammu in system space.
That experience was infuriating.
Noah wasn't a masochist.
He instinctively hated it.
Worse, he didn't even know if a second attempt would yield the same results.
Even the system couldn't guarantee it.
That left him at a loss.
He even considered forcing Hela to accelerate her recovery.
At least that might save time.
But he couldn't be sure the results would meet his expectations.
Or whether fighting her prematurely would produce what he needed.
Too many variables.
The mess gave him a headache.
It seemed his only option was to talk to Odin.
To see if the All-Father could open a universe ahead of schedule.
But had Odin found a suitable one yet?
"What are you thinking about?" Loki asked.
Noticing Noah's silence, he grinned wickedly.
"Don't tell me you're thinking about something unsavory. Say... have you taken a liking to my dear sister?"
Noah snapped out of it instantly.
"First of all, given your relationship with your sister, you'd never use the word 'dear.' I think it's far more likely she wants to tear you apart, dear Loki."
"Second, while I do like mature women, she's too old to relate to. Not to mention her neurological issues."
"Oh, right. Loki."
"The cat in my sanctum misses you. Why don't you come visit sometime? You haven't been there in a while."
"Absolutely not!" Loki's face darkened instantly.
That thing in Noah's sanctum?
Calling it a cat was generous.
It was a Flerken.
Why it stayed there freeloading was beyond him, but Loki didn't care.
He just knew he wasn't going anywhere near it.
"That's a shame," Noah said with mock regret.
"I wanted to check on your cultivation progress."
"You studied in my sanctum for so long. I'm curious about your current level."
"How about... we do it right here in Asgard?"
Loki pretended not to hear.
He turned his head and walked straight ahead.
His reaction made Noah chuckle.
Rubbing his chin, Noah suddenly realized that the little creature in his sanctum truly contributed nothing.
Pure freeloading.
Maybe he should take it out sometime.
Especially if he ended up in an extremely dangerous universe.
It could block a few bullets.
Or at least be used as a threat.
"Back already?" Noah snapped out of his thoughts as they arrived at the palace.
Odin greeted them with a smile, like a kindly old man.
"Mission complete, Your Majesty," Noah nodded.
"At least the first phase."
"Well done, child," Odin replied warmly.
He didn't ask for details.
Noah's methods had always been reliable.
Turning to look at his daughter, Odin said nothing.
He only shook his head.
Frigga's expression, however, was filled with emotion.
After a long silence, Odin suddenly turned back to Noah.
"There's something else," he said slowly.
"I've found a place. Perhaps there's something there you want."
"Really?" Noah's spirits lifted immediately.
He hadn't expected Odin to bring it up so directly.
"Where?"
"A strange universe," Odin said after a pause.
"Dangerous. Exceptionally terrifying."
"I don't know exactly how dangerous it is, but the dread it gives me is suffocating."
"Do you intend to go?"
"...Can I have some time to think about it?"
"Think carefully," Odin replied.
"But I can't guarantee I'll find that universe again next time."
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