Chapter 5: 5 VANISH

"I want to stop the project…" Toussaint reveals his crystal-clear intentions.

"Steve Rogers, formerly known as Captain America made a visit to my apartment yesterday. It wasn't anything particular. Just a visit."

"Oh shit," Love grabs Toussaint by his collar. "Don't tell me you tattled…"

Toussaint cleanly leans on the side and did a judo throw at Love. "Calm down, let me finish my piece."

Spacing himself from the volatile Viking, Toussaint raises his hands in the air gesturing his defense. "We talked. Just small talk. I asked him to tell me stories about his time travel… I know the full story of the war. That's why I know how Captain America traveled through time to return the stones. Wakanda stores a generous amount of information detailing what happened before the blip. I have reasons to believe that time traveling might have more catastrophic results than we could imagine."

At this revelation, everyone falls into silence.

Toussaint narrates his conversation with Steve. "No one but those from the Avengers' circle knows the true story of how they beat Thanos, and how it has come to Ironman's sacrifice to save the universe. But I am T'challa's son giving me leeway as to why I know the story. He didn't tell me the whole tale… However, he did tell me… he wasn't alone…"

More silence…

Toussaint takes a deep breath. "There are people killing time travelers."

"Bullshit," Resorting to crass language is a sign of stress, and Morgan knows this. "Then, we can just hide… just like what Captain America did…" No matter how unbelievable it is, Morgan has to take this new information to heart. She turns to Love expecting the latter to back her point.

Unfortunately, she doesn't…

"No, Toussaint is right…"

"What do you mean? So what we have is a serial killer of time travelers… No doubt we can take them on… I am plenty confident." Morgan is on the cusp of her reason.

"TVA... It was an organization outside of time… My uncle works there. He secretly visited me once on my birthday… He is an asshole… He  is untrustworthy,, but my gut tells me this TVA is our mystery killer."

"How did you know?" Toussaint asks what everyone is curious about.

"My uncle loves to boast… That's how I learned of his more clandestine secrets… He was drunk and reeks of alcohol. Went for hours about how the love of his life dumped him."

Morgan coldly approaches Love. "Then I'll die… If dying is what it takes to reunite with my father even for just a single day, then I'll gladly die… The time stone, give it to me…"

"Are you not afraid of dooming this reality?" Toussaint asks what has been bothering him for a long time. "We are too focused on building this time machine we didn't even entertain the consequences of our actions…"

Morgan as steady as she is didn't remove her gaze from Love. "You are not the only one who has a habit of reading old files.  You know the full story of the war? Then I know the one very specific story of how they built the weapon that won the war… I didn't just grab the schematics I used on our time machine, Toussaint.

"I also studied the theory that works behind it, the cause and effect, and the divergence in the timeline. In layman's terms, this is time travel. But from a more scientific and methodological point of view, what we are actually doing is creating another timeline, another universe… In that universe, Tony Stark is alive.

"In that universe, Morgan Stark has a father." Saying this, Morgan grabs Love by her chest with a nano-tech-based Ironman gauntlet. According to the Artificial Intelligence in her earpiece, that was where the unusual energy was staying at.

Morgan pulls the thing off, entirely pulling the hidden time stone from Love's breast pocket. "Go and take a fly." She coldly announces to Love.

Love notices it too late but there was something latching on her foot. Suddenly, she feels her weight getting lighter. And almost explosively, the gravity surrounding her reverses causing her to levitate with increasing velocity.

Toussaint not letting the situation devolve further, attacks Morgan. With a single leap, he arrives at Morgan's flank, but Morgan is as calm as ever. Toussaint feels something wrong going on, but it is too late.

A continuous intense electrical jolt spreads over Toussaint causing him to keel and be immobilized for a good few seconds.

Morgan kindly explains. "Do you remember the repulsor? I actually snuck a projectile with a taser function at you."

With steady steps, Morgan then approaches Stray. "The smartphone, give it to me."

"Why?"

"I am going alone. I can't have you pulling me out with the control device, so give me the smartphone while I am still being nice."

"TVA, they are bad news. They kill 'variants' as their life's purpose. If you do step into that time machine, your death will almost be certain. Hiding is not an option." Stray makes a quick query on his wiki about TVA, doing his darndest to convince Morgan.

But Morgan is persistent.

"Looks like you know what this TVA is… So, what special identity do you have?"

"Believe it or not, I actually searched it on the wiki."

"Stop with the jokes. Give it to me."

Stray obediently hands over the smartphone. "Is there really no way for me to convince you?"

"Give up."

Morgan proceeds on her way to the machine as she sets up the arc reactor and time stone.

Now, two paths stand before Stray.

You are reading story Marvel: Stray at novel35.com

One— stay… He can choose to remain in this world and have the peaceful life he already had. In this world, he can take it easy. There are not many problems he has to dabble on. It is an easy life.

Two— follow… He can choose to abandon this world to live in another. In that world, the Ironman, Black Panther, and maybe even his proverbial grandfather are still alive. In that order, he also has to relive the difficulties that the world will encounter… so it is a difficult life.

To surmise the options plainly, it was choosing between an easy life and a hard life.

What will Stray choose?

"Morgan..." Stray calls to her, but she ignores him. "I really want to shake Ironman's hands."

Hearing this, Morgan looks at Stray with a dumb face. She has already set up the arc reactor by this point. "Do you know why I brought more arc reactors than what this time machine needs?" She opens her bag revealing a couple of arc reactors. "Because I will be needing them in the other timeline. I don't know how to build an arc reactor yet. Thus, I am resorting to borrowing." She proceeds on setting up the time stone.

Morgan's words are not direct enough, but Stray gets it. He is a normal guy. He doesn't have any special powers. He is… too human. Unlike Toussaint and Love who have superhuman abilities, Stray has basically nothing.

Though Morgan was able to one-up Toussaint, Judging from his responsiveness, it is safe to assume that he has long received his race's royal heritage. The same goes for Love who is of alien origins.

A few seconds are nothing to Morgan. Quickly, she sets up the device that will be housing the time stone. She delicately puts the stone into the device, and then she starts scrolling on the smartphone that was acting as a control device.

Stray won't simply stay his hand. "I will go too. If Toussaint and Love want to go too, then let them."

"You got no say in this." Morgan swiftly finishes the final touches as light gathers on the center of the machine. Whatever seems to be a standing capsule starts pushing its gears. Its shape is changing into something else.  The standing capsule was no more, but instead, there is a machine resembling the Endgame movie's time machine in its place.

In the center of the time machine is a portal-like gathering of lights.

"Morgan, give me the smartphone," Stray asks Morgan with his nicest tone imaginable. "I promise I won't push the yellow button. I cannot have you pushing it after you cross over. I want to go too…" He stubbornly says to Morgan.

"I already told you, you cannot. You will die definitely and certainly."

With a thought, Stray activates his system and starts buying off skills and upgrading them.

[SKILL SYSTEM— SKILL POINTS— (5)]

+Quickhands (F) -1SP

[Skill Assimilation activating— Pickpocket + Lockpick + Quickhands = Thievery (D)]

[ACHIEVEMENT! First Skill Assimilation! +5 SP]

+Fleetfoot (F) -1 SP

+Fleetfoot (D) -2 SP

+Fighting (F) -1 SP

+Fighting (A) -5 SP

Stray sprints forward with impressive speed comparable to athletes.

Morgan's surprise is evident in her eyes as she didn't expect Stray to hide such abilities. She jerks her right arm summoning her palm blaster. She sets it off in repulsor mode.

When she was about to shoot off, Stray arrives just in time to grab her right arm, but it's too late. That's what Morgan at least was thinking.

Stray on an instinctual level knows what to do the moment he grabs Morgan's arm. It was to disarm the palm blaster, and so he did. He grabs Morgan's underarm with his right hand where the extension of the blaster is staying, he clutches it, and then he pulls. Meanwhile, with his left hand, he grabs onto the palm blaster's head, and then similarly, he pulls.

Quite a beautiful disarm.

It was the work of the newly assimilated skill, Thievery (D).

While at it, Stray straight up wears Morgan's palm blaster, and with it, he shoots at Morgan. The angle was just right. The repulsor blaster sends Morgan flying straight to the time machine's portal.

The smartphone AKA the control device has long been on Stray's hand. While compromising Morgan's palm blaster, he was also simultaneously stealing Morgan's smartphone. His attempt to steal the palm blaster was actually a misdirection on Stray's part. It is so that he can steal the smartphone under Morgan's nose.

It was an accident that a mere 'attempt' actually was able to succeed. Stray is thankful that he has the smartphone now. But it is not time to dilly-dally yet. Who knows? A time difference in the use of the time machine might develop into an unexpected outcome if Stray doesn't move fast.

With his Fleetfoot (D), Stray runs forward.

Love who barely was able to free herself from the anti-gravity gadget with her Stormbreaker rushes to the portal, the only thing on her mind is to screw it. Not taking a second look at her uncle's words, she decides to do what she thinks is right.

Toussaint who is suppressing the numbing of his body pushes with his adrenaline as he too volleys forward using his panther-like speed. He leaps into the time machine with a different mindset than before. Ignoring Steve Roger's word of warning, Toussaint makes his resolute decision.

The time machine shakes in fury. Spitting electricity left and right, it starts swallowing itself inside and out. And then, in a blinding flurry of light, the time machine vanishes. Strangely, the basketball court remains unharmed. The only signs that someone was here are the presence of the squeezed rails in the bleachers, some metal scraps from Morgan's anti-gravity tech, and the white cloth drifting into the air.

The year 2035, Month XX. Four students of Midtown High vanish into thin air. Claims of their last sightings were their… home… Where are they now? No one knows.

You can find story with these keywords: Marvel: Stray, Read Marvel: Stray, Marvel: Stray novel, Marvel: Stray book, Marvel: Stray story, Marvel: Stray full, Marvel: Stray Latest Chapter