The cosmos. In the eyes of most life, it is an incomparably vast and mysterious existence. The cosmos is more spacious than most people imagine, and seemingly numerous celestial bodies are not that easy to encounter. Even members within a stable, mature star system are always far apart, unable to gaze at each other from afar.
No one can claim to know every star in this cosmos. Not even the Supreme Magician, not even Magneto, even with such powerful abilities, their understanding of the cosmos is still very limited. Anyone within it cannot see its entirety, not even Eternity, which is but a part of the cosmos and never its master.
However, transforming the cosmic environment to be more conducive to one's survival and development is the ultimate goal of every intelligent creature. Unable to reshape such a vast cosmos, they instead transform their own planets; the more advanced can transform star systems and even exert some influence on the interstellar society of the entire cosmos. This is almost all that intelligent lifeforms can achieve.
Among them, those who perform particularly well, thriving and ambitious, not only widely transform the cosmic environment but also stand out in the competition of civilizations, nearly reaching the pinnacle of intelligent life. Hence, they are compelled to seek outward.
What lies beyond the cosmos? For a long time, there was no answer. The curiosity of intelligent creatures drives them, urging them to research continuously. Yet, most cannot breach the barrier of the cosmos, never knowing what lies beyond. This leaves them frustrated and lamenting, unable to find a new target to strive for.
But what they do not know is that this is the cosmos's final mercy. What is beyond the cosmos? Not a new, warm, and gentle land waiting to be developed, but another cosmos, countless other cosmoses beyond count.
There, equally intelligent creatures lie in wait, baring teeth and sharpening claws; along with countless terrifying existences, incomparably huge and endless, which just a glance at would completely alienate, transform, and die painfully in fear.
Such truths are too cruel for beings within the cosmos. However, the curiosity of intelligent life is endless, so they inevitably seek to go beyond one day, if not today, then tomorrow.
And this time, it is today.
In the Andromeda Star System of the Marvel Central Universe, the glow of the teleportation portal has been shining all night long. In the boundless and infinite cosmos, similar yet different superheroes converged on the same battlefield overnight. Weary from the journey, they are nonetheless incredibly excited by all the novel things.
The Avengers from the 616 Main Universe arrived very late, almost the last to reach. Each wore scars, resembling a pack of hyenas that managed to hunt with great effort, only to have their prey snatched by lions and even clawed at. They were not so unsightly, but equally shabby.
Main Universe Iron Man was walking with a bandaged arm in a sling and limping slightly; Captain America's shield hadn't even been properly maintained, covered in scorched marks from artillery fire; Dr. Banner appeared fine on the surface but wore a strong coffee scent, obviously having not rested for days; Thor's divine power was almost undetectable, clearly exhausted long ago; Doctor Strange hadn't shaved for days, with dark circles under his eyes.
Coulson, responsible for reception, said nothing, and walked up to Captain America, patting him on the shoulder. "Follow me, you can take a hot shower, and then get a good sleep."
"Is there time?" Main Universe Captain America's voice was a bit hoarse. "Shouldn't the emergency battle readiness start already? I'm not very tired; is there anything I can do?"
"Actually, there is something, Captain," Coulson responded accordingly, "As you can see, we are not on Earth, this is the Andromeda Galaxy. The battlefield will be established in the third-largest star system within this group of star systems—the Triangulum Galaxy, which is not very far from here..."
Before he could explain what needed to be done, Main Universe Iron Man interrupted, "300 million light-years from Earth is not far?!"
"Uh..." Coulson was momentarily taken aback by the interruption and didn't know where to start. Main Universe Iron Man added, "Of course, I know you guys have mages who can use teleportation portals, but the portals of mages are only small, with limited capacity. How do we deal with the supply line, setting the battlefield so far from Earth?"
Coulson realized that Main Universe Iron Man seemed to be in a state of stress. To be precise, from the moment he decided to fight, he hadn't come out of this state. This state, while making his mind more active and his thinking faster, it also made his reactions intense to anything, and he feared any stimulus could result in significant damage.
Coulson took a deep breath and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense, generally speaking, fighting so far away shouldn't be an option, but after much consideration, we deem this location safer. As for logistics, we don't use mages' portals for transportation, we use spaceships."
"Spaceships?" Captain America asked curiously, "You have spaceships now? Is it Nick's sky carrier?"
"No, it's an actual spaceship. It may be a bit complicated to explain, but you'll see it when you head to the front line later. Don't worry too much about logistics, our supply line is fully operational."
"You mentioned wanting me to help with something; what exactly is it?"
"It's actually not that important." Coulson gave a smile and said, "We hope the Andromeda Galaxy can become the safe rear for this war, and we are extensively clearing the region's creatures, especially those that might mutate from power fluctuations. Any superhero not yet on the front line is primarily engaged in this. Would you like to help, Captain?"
"No problem, but how large an area are we clearing? The entire star system? I'm afraid there's not enough time, right?"
"We should head to the frontline first." Main Universe Iron Man said anxiously, "We don't even know where the trenches are, how do we have time to worry about flora and fauna? What about those mutants, have they arrived?"
"Yes, they went to the Triangulum Galaxy first, there's still a lot to handle there." Coulson nodded.
"So you're saying they can go to the battlefield while we're just here cleaning up some plants?!" Main Universe Iron Man raised his voice, "Do you really think this is reasonable? Or do you think mutants are more trustworthy than The Avengers?"
Coulson, being a very seasoned agent, didn't try to explain because once you start, it never ends. He chose to attack directly: "Sorry, Mr. Stark, from a traditional carbon-based life form's value perspective, sending you to the battlefield in such physical and mental condition doesn't align with humanitarian principles. But this job offer wasn't particularly targeted at you, after all, even a gardener needs a good arm, right?"
Main Universe Iron Man was huffing with anger, taking several deep breaths to calm down. At this moment, Main Universe Black Widow stepped forward and said, "If there's indeed a bit of time to rest, then make sure to provide us with the best treatment and rest environment, so we can be in the best shape to hit the battlefield. All veterans know, not resting well before a fight is deadly."
Main Universe Black Widow gave Captain America a look, and Main Universe Captain America walked over, patting Main Universe Iron Man on the shoulder and said, "That's right, going to the battlefield like this, even operating the mecha might be affected. It's better to take a good rest."
"It's just a minor fracture!" Main Universe Iron Man said, "Besides, such an injury takes at least ten days to half a month to heal, I can't wait that long. Are you all heading to the frontline while I have to stay back to recuperate alone?!"
"Actually, we have the best medical team." Coulson spoke up, "Internists and pharmacologists each have an average of three PhDs. If there are open wounds, we also have the best surgeons."
"Go on, Tony." Dr. Banner said, "We promise we'll wait for you. Even if the battle starts, it can't be that intense at the beginning. Batman will definitely probe us first, you won't miss anything."
Others also spoke one after another to persuade him. Although Main Universe Iron Man was extremely anxious, he obviously couldn't resist so many people's disapproval. He could only walk forward with Coulson, muttering, "Hope the medical team is really as good as you say..."
"God's shit!" Main Universe Iron Man stared dumbfounded at the figures bustling around in the ward: doing rounds was Dr. Ethan, adjusting the IV fluid flow rate was Doctor Connors, and holding a notebook writing something was Dr. Banner.
That wasn't the point, the point was the corners of the room had someone standing on each side, on the left was Doctor Destruction, and on the right was Dr. Reed.
Having initially thought he had exhausted all his willpower just agreeing to come to the hospital, Main Universe Iron Man realized at this moment he had underestimated his willpower. At this time, in this scene, he could still hold back and not run for it.
"Sorry, wartime conditions are tough, this hospital is also borrowed from the Mutant Base's hospital. It's just that to better conduct healing, we've made some slight personnel adjustments..."
"You call pulling a nuke from a missile silo and randomly throwing it on the ground a slight adjustment?!" Main Universe Iron Man said quite incredulously, "What does a major adjustment look like?! You don't mean to have The Hulk treat my fractures, do you?!"
"I swear I have no such intention." Coulson just finished saying this, then paused deliberately, and added, "Not before you raise your fist to punch me anyway."
Main Universe Iron Man opened his mouth, he did have such an idea before, but because one of his arms was fractured, he didn't put it into practice. He felt a bit of regret previously, but now it seemed just right.
Main Universe Iron Man, unwillingly, walked over and sat down. Approaching the bed with the curtain drawn, he only then discovered he wasn't the only unlucky one in the hospital: being cared for by Dr. Ethan and Doctor Connors was a Spider Man, and there were two more lying behind him, but they were obscured so it was unclear who they were.
"What happened here?" Main Universe Iron Man asked Coulson, "How is someone injured before the fight starts?"
"They came injured, just like you." Coulson sat down by the bed and said, "Fortunately, we anticipated such a situation and equipped the hospital with ample medication and staff. Alright, lie down now, we'll give you the cure potion."
Having said this, he reached out and pressed Main Universe Iron Man onto the bed. Main Universe Iron Man didn't want to lie down, but the problem was Dr. Banner was right next to him, and if he didn't lie down, Bruce Banner would have to come over and press him, then he might end up with not even a good arm left.
Main Universe Iron Man swallowed his pride and obediently lay down, only to see the person walking over with the cure potion was Doctor Connors.
"Don't come over! You... you... ahhhhhhhhhh!"