Planet Vormir.
The once peaceful planet had undergone a transformation. A portal made entirely of obsidian had appeared.
Zombified piglins shambled through the gateway in a steady stream. But the corruption didn't stop at the portal, the ground around it was changing, infected by strange energy.
Gray rock converted into netherrack, spreading outward like a cancer. Magma blocks materialized randomly across the landscape. A river of molten lava flowed down from the nearby cliff face, hitting the water below with violent hisses of steam.
Thousands of zombified piglins wandered across the transformed terrain. But something strange happened whenever they ventured beyond the netherrack's boundary, they would suddenly collapse, dissolving into white smoke that dissipated into the atmosphere.
And wherever a piglin died, a random Nether block would materialize.
It looked exactly like a demonic invasion from Hell itself. If Mario could see this, he'd be stunned speechless.
Because he had no idea his Nether portal construction had triggered an ecological disaster on an alien world.
Space rippled with distortion as a small spacecraft dropped out of FTL near Vormir's orbit.
Inside the cockpit sat two figures, Natasha and Hawkeye, though not the versions that belonged to this timeline. These were refugees from a darker future, desperately searching for a way to undo catastrophe.
"This is Vormir, the planet where the Soul Stone is supposed to be." Hawkeye piloted the ship through atmospheric entry, scanning for a suitable landing site. "If we weren't on such a tight schedule, I'd love to explore properly."
They touched down about half a kilometer from the massive mountain. He killed the engines and stared at the distant peak.
"The environment here is bizarre. That whole mountain is red..."
Natasha nodded but said nothing. Something felt wrong about this mission.
As they approached the mountain's base, Hawkeye stopped dead in his tracks.
"Did we come to the wrong planet?"
With a flick of his wrist, a collapsible bow materialized in his hand. The weapon extended, and within seconds he had an arrow nocked and ready. His eyes scanned the massive crowd of creatures blocking their path.
Natasha drew a combat knife from her belt, pressing close to Hawkeye's side. "It can't be wrong. This is Vormir."
"Then what the hell are these things?"
Hawkeye's voice was cold. The deaths of his wife and children had left deep scars. Without Natasha giving him hope for redemption, he might have lost himself completely in bloodshed.
Natasha shook her head, equally confused. But there was one piece of good news, these bizarre creatures didn't seem interested in attacking them. Otherwise...
She did a quick head count. Nearly a thousand of the pig-like zombies wandered the area, each carrying what appeared to be a golden sword. Though on closer inspection, the weapons looked wrong.
Grunt. Snort. Grunt.
The constant pig noises grated on Hawkeye's nerves, but he held his fire. That's when he spotted something in the distance.
"Natasha, look there!"
As if on cue, another zombified piglin emerged from the purple gateway. Now they understood where the creatures were coming from.
Natasha lowered her knife. She'd already assessed the situation, neither her blade nor her pistols would be effective against this many hostiles. Unless the Hulk were here, they couldn't fight their way through.
"I'm going to take a closer look."
"I'm coming with you." Hawkeye had already lost everything once. He wasn't about to lose Natasha too.
They wove carefully through the zombified piglins, which largely ignored them. Fortunately, only the zombie variants were coming through the portal. If regular piglins started showing up, things would get complicated fast.
Stepping onto the netherrack, they approached the obsidian structure. That's when Hawkeye suddenly stopped.
"Wait..."
Natasha turned to see him crouching down, picking something up from the ground. His eyes widened.
"There's been a human here."
He held up a crushed cigarette butt. The distinctive camel logo was clearly visible despite the dirt.
Natasha stepped closer, examining the evidence. "That's impossible. At this point in the timeline, even Thanos hasn't been here yet. Based on the condition..." She paused, running her finger along the paper. "This is no more than three or four months old."
God only knew what kind of training Black Widow had received that let her date a cigarette butt by touch alone.
Hawkeye nodded slowly. "Something's happened on Vormir that we don't know about."
"The Soul Stone is what matters right now," Natasha said firmly.
They exchanged a look, then continued toward the portal. Their plan was to examine it first, then proceed to the altar at the summit.
As they reached the gateway, Natasha realized they'd packed light, no scanning equipment, just weapons and supplies for the immediate mission.
She narrowed her eyes and reached out to touch the obsidian, but Hawkeye stopped her. Instead, he extended his bow and tapped the black stone, producing a clear ringing sound.
"This... feels like volcanic glass or something similar."
Seeing no danger, Natasha placed her hand against the obsidian. Faint warmth spread from her palm. After a thorough inspection, she concluded the black stone had no outwardly special properties, or at least none they could detect with their limited equipment.
Grunt...
Another zombified piglin emerged from the portal. Hawkeye frowned. "Could the Soul Stone be on the other side of this gateway?"
Natasha shook her head. "I don't think so. When Thanos came here with Gamora, only he left with the Soul Stone. Clearly, acquiring it isn't that simple."
She looked up toward the altar at the mountain's peak. "We should check up there."
Hawkeye recalled what Nebula had told them about this place and nodded. Together, they began the long climb.
After nearly an hour of ascending the mountain path, they finally reached the summit. A massive stone altar spread before them, flat and ancient, with no sign of the guardian that was supposed to be here.
At the center of the altar stood a wooden sign, completely out of place in this environment.
They approached cautiously.
On the sign, a neat line of text had been carved. Natasha recognized it as Italian.
"This is Italian..."
But then Hawkeye said something unexpected. "These are Italian words? I can't read them, but somehow... I know what they say."
"That's impossible," Natasha whispered.
But she was experiencing the same phenomenon. Despite never learning Italian, the meaning of the words was crystal clear in her mind: "Thanos, I've taken the Stone. Don't bother looking for me.
They stood in silence for a long moment. Finally, Natasha looked at Hawkeye and spoke quietly.
"Looks like we need to go to Earth."
---
Universe 2.
Mario stood in Asgard's palace, admiring the Infinity Gauntlet in his hands.
"Thor, this glove is perfect. Seriously, the one you guys had in your vault..." He shook his head. "That thing looked like it was custom-made for Thanos. Way too big for normal people."
In the movies, the gauntlet had fit Thanos and Hulk perfectly, but anyone else looked ridiculous wearing it. When Spider-Man held the thing, it was as wide as his torso.
Thor replied seriously, "That was part of my father's collection. Its size was modeled after the Destroyer's armor."
"Ah, that explains it."
From his inventory, Mario pulled out the second Tesseract. Since Asgard had already repaired their Bifrost using the Tesseract, breaking one wouldn't be a problem.
"Do me a favor and crack this open."
Thor nodded, raised Mjolnir high, and brought it down. The sound of shattering glass filled the hall as the Tesseract's outer shell fractured, revealing the blue gem within.
Mario crouched and plucked the Space Stone from among the fragments.
"The Space Stone... pretty, though the shape could use some work." All the Infinity Stones had irregular geometries that offended his gamer sensibilities. Part of him wanted to get out some sandpaper and smooth the edges.
Next, he pulled out the Soul Stone, and placed it against the back of the gauntlet. Unlike others who experienced overwhelming sensations when handling the stones, this one simply clicked into place magnetically.
"Right, still need the Mind Stone."
Ignoring Thor's complicated expression, he reached into his inventory and withdrew Loki's scepter. He felt a moment of reluctance, the staff had sentimental value after all their adventures.
But after a moment's consideration, a fully equipped Infinity Gauntlet was far more appealing than nostalgia.
Using his armored right hand, he pried the Mind Stone from the scepter's mount and embedded it into the gauntlet. Instantly, he felt a surge of confidence bordering on arrogance.
"That's three Infinity Stones already. Collecting all six should be easy."
He glanced at Thor, and waved dismissively. "I'm heading back. Since the Bifrost is fixed, come visit Earth if you need me, though I might not be around."
"Wait!"
Thor called out hastily. Mario turned back. From the start, he had seemed distracted by something.
"If you've got something on your mind, just say it. Being all hesitant doesn't suit you."
Thor gave an awkward laugh, scratching his head. "Loki... How is he now? Could you let him come home? Our parents miss him dearly."
Hearing Loki's name, Mario's expression turned distinctly strange. He didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he asked something completely unexpected.
"Did you know... Frost Giants reproduce asexually?"
Thor froze for a moment, then nodded. As one of Asgard's longtime enemies, he naturally knew something about Frost Giant biology.
"I know that... but what does it have to do with him?"
Mario's grin widened. He walked over, patted Thor on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. Loki is currently undergoing self-reformation. Relax, she'll be back in about a year."
Then he laughed heartily and departed through a portal, leaving a very confused Thor standing alone in the palace.
---
After considerable travel time, Natasha and Hawkeye's spacecraft finally arrived at Earth. Using advanced cloaking technology, they flew silently over New York City.
"Looking at it like this, New York's changed so much over the past decade," Hawkeye said nostalgically. "See Stark Tower? That's what it looked like right after construction finished."
Their world had lost half its population to the Snap. Everything had changed. The once-bustling New York of their time had grown cold and empty, with many survivors moving to rural communities.
Natasha guided the ship toward the city's outskirts, an isolated area with only a single strange-looking factory building in sight.
The ship descended slowly toward a clear landing zone. But before they could disembark, nearly a hundred armored figures flew in from all directions. Each was a four-meter-tall Iron Man-style suit.
Within seconds, their small craft was completely surrounded.
A series of mechanical clicks and transformations followed as dozens of energy weapons extended from the suits, beginning charge sequences. Even for trained operatives like them, the display was intimidating.
"How can there be this many Iron Man suits? Is this... Ultron?" Having lived through the Age of Ultron, Hawkeye immediately jumped to that conclusion. It was the only explanation for such an army existing in secret.
He prepared for combat, gripping his bow tightly. Then a communication request appeared on their control panel.
"Unknown signal requesting connection. Accept?"
With no better option, Natasha accepted. Unless they used Pym particles to return to their timeline immediately, compliance was their only choice.
A woman's voice came through the ship's speakers: "Strangers, you have trespassed on private property. Open your hatch immediately and exit your craft for inspection. Otherwise, we will use force."
It was Anna's voice, though much colder than when she spoke with Mario. She wasn't in a good mood, Mario constantly acted like an absentee boss, never visiting the company except for brief, rushed appearances.
Hawkeye looked at Natasha, whose eyes were fixed on the distant factory's obsidian walls.
"This world keeps getting weirder. What now? Do we leave, or...?"
Natasha's gaze remained locked on the black structure. "We're going in. Whoever left that message on Vormir, if they're not here, they're definitely connected to this place."
Without hesitation, she powered down the ship and opened the hatch.
Several Iron Man-sized suits flew inside, striding directly toward the cockpit while others began scanning every corner of the vessel.
When the armored figures reached the cockpit and identified the occupants, Anna's voice came again through the comms.
"Agent Romanoff? Agent Barton?"