"It has sothing to do with Malrick too? Why?" Holland's Spider-Man looked baffled.
"It's because of the Mind Stone," B-15 explained calmly.
"Superman crossed into a parallel universe and removed the Mind Stone. That action triggered Thanos's abnormal behavior."
She crossed her arms as she continued, "Even though Thanos was always ambitious and relentless, Malrick's interference was the spark. In the Multiverse, even the smallest change can beco a world-ending storm."
She turned to Malrick. "In both the old TVA and the current one, Superman, your actions qualify as Ti cris."
Malrick shrugged lightly. "Then I should thank the TVA for not dragging away instantly."
He looked at the massive display ahead of them. "Relax. I'll fix it."
B-15 gave a dry laugh. "The Celestials' Judge said you already exist as a conceptual entity. We wouldn't dare arrest sothing like that."
Her expression hardened. "But I have a recomndation. If you continue involving yourself in other universes, do it as a conceptual entity. And don't remove anything."
"Taking objects from alternate tilines changes their future, destabilizes causality, and increases cross-universe entanglent. Too much of that can cause universes to collide."
She pointed at Holland's Spider-Man. "Many Doctor Stranges interfered repeatedly with other universes. Their actions triggered multiple universe collapses. The TVA had to send Spider-n to arrest dozens of variant Stranges."
The young Spider-Man nodded seriously. "I've already arrested three. One tried to resurrect Christine, another tried to bring back his girlfriend… honestly, they were all trying to resurrect their girlfriends."
"Devotion at that level? He's almost as loyal as ," Tony said proudly.
"Let it go, Tony," Malrick replied, unmoved by Tony's self-praise.
Having understood everything, Malrick exhaled and ford a plan.
"Alright. First step is the first Thanos."
He took two Ti Pads from Holland's Spider-Man and opened a portal.
"How are we doing this?" Holland asked as he followed him. "Going straight at him? Last ti we fought Thanos, half the planet showed up."
"No. First we gather the Infinity Stones from my universe," Malrick said, stepping through.
"Oh! Right. You can only counter Infinity Stones with more Infinity Stones. Too bad the ones in our universe were destroyed by our Thanos."
Holland entered behind him, followed by Tony and Wanda.
B-15 watched them leave, silent for a mont before pressing a button on her console.
A surveillance recording appeared.
In the footage, TVA agents activated the Ti Crusher, attempting to delete the tilines containing the uncontrolled versions of Thanos. The Ti Crusher, powered by matter-antimatter annihilation, was the TVA's ultimate failsafe. It could erase an entire tiline at once.
But the mont the Ti Crusher's energy struck the universe Thanos occupied, he snapped his fingers and nullified it instantly.
His awareness shot upward, and he began searching the cosmos for the TVA's location. Without the TVA's suppression field, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
The video ended.
B-15 let out a long breath. "Once the Stones combine, even the Ti Crusher becos useless. This ti, we really can only rely on Superman."
...…
When Malrick and the others returned to Earth, not a second had passed.
They appeared back at Tony's wedding.
Malrick closed the portal casually and spoke quietly to the three beside him.
"You all stay. Continue the wedding."
Tony blinked. "What? No chance, you're not leaving behind now, kid—"
"Tony," Malrick interrupted, "I know saving the world matters to you. But Pepper deserves this wedding. It's once in a lifeti."
He didn't give them ti to argue. "I'll collect the Stones first. Then I'll co back for you."
Malrick vanished before anyone could react.
Tony exploded. "No! Absolutely not! You can't just— damn it!"
He spun toward Holland. "Open a portal! We're going back to the TVA right now!"
Holland removed his mask carefully. "I can't. Malrick took all the Ti Pads. We're stuck."
"No backup? Nothing for ergencies?" Tony demanded.
"No. I only had one. Deadpool's was grabbed by Malrick too."
Tony clenched his fists. "Damn it!"
"Tony? Oh, Peter! You made it! That's wonderful." Pepper approached them with a bright smile.
Tony froze, forced a grin, then put an arm around Peter. "Of course. Peter insisted on coming. Big fan of mine."
Peter nodded awkwardly, smiling too hard.
Wanda managed a soft smile as well, though worry flickered behind her eyes.
...…
Outside Earth, Malrick hovered in the void.
"Reality Stone first."
His palm shined with five colors: blue, red, yellow, green, and purple.
"In What If…, Gamora's Stone Crusher couldn't destroy Ultron's Stones. That proves Stones from different universes vary. The strongest set cos from one universe alone."
He had four; he needed the last two.
"The Reality Stone was sealed in a dinsional pocket on Earth by the previous king of Asgard."
He swept his hand through space. The fabric of reality thinned like chalk being erased.
Using the Stones as guidance, he quickly located the hidden dinsional layer.
A few gestures later, the sealed boulder inside the pocket dinsion aged and crumbled away. The Aether surged out like a crimson tide.
As it neared Malrick, it turned violent, spreading like a living curtain trying to invade his body.
Malrick flicked his wrist, and the violent substance went still, like a predator suddenly aware it wasn't the apex.
With a thought, the Aether compressed into a single scarlet gem.
"Reality Stone secured."
He drew the Stone into his internal space. The glow from his palm faded.
"Next is the Soul Stone. Which ans it's ti to find Thanos."
Before doing that, he glanced toward Earth and sliced open space.
Two figures tumbled out.
Gamora and Nebula.
Covered in mud from head to toe, wearing waterproof farm gear, slling strongly of magical-creature waste.
Behind the spatial cut, Kamar-Taj's pocket world was visible, along with towering piles of dragon droppings. Two pitchforks stood beside them.
They had clearly been cleaning.
"Gamora, Nebula. You two have tried escaping for a year." Malrick raised a brow. "If you want freedom, help , and you'll get your chance."
They had been captured by the Super Skrulls after Thanos's defeat and dumped, embarrassingly, at Malrick's feet. Malrick had almost reversed ti just to forget the awkwardness, especially with Kara right there staring at him like he was so kind of creep.
To protect his own reputation, he imdiately had Tony take them. Tony, under Pepper's watchful eye, passed them to Wong. Wong assigned them to creature-cleanup duty in the Kamar-Taj pocket world.
For a year, they did nothing but shovel dragon waste.
Attempting to escape led only to Hulk beating them back into obedience.
Now both floated helplessly in Malrick's spatial hold. Nebula was unfazed, being mostly machine. Gamora, however, began suffocating imdiately.
Her skin swelled painfully; death crept in fast.
"Gamora!" Nebula struggled, unable to move even a finger.
Malrick sighed and ward the pocket of space around them, restoring air and temperature.
Gamora gasped violently, pressing against the invisible wall, trembling.
"What do you want from us?" she demanded, voice shaking.
"Help get the Soul Stone," Malrick said while tracing a circle to open another portal.
"Impossible," Gamora said sharply. "No one knows where it is. Throw us back into the dragon pens if you want, but we can't help you."
"Throw you back? What, are you attached to dragon waste now?"
Malrick looked genuinely confused.
"Or maybe you've gotten comfortable with a quiet life, even if it slls awful."
The portal completed. The passage connected to a massive warship.
"You can refuse if you want," Malrick said as he stepped through and pulled them with him, "but I'm not accepting refusals. You're still prisoners."
In the command chamber of the ship, Malrick faced the tall figure in the main seat.
Thanos.
And Malrick spoke quietly, "Let's begin."
---
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