The most miraculous thing about the Marvel universe had to be its communication systems.
Take that legendary pager Fury carried around, supposedly worked across the entire galaxy. Or Star-Lord's ship radio that could somehow pick up signals from light-years away.
After requesting a few pieces of alien-tech communication equipment from Yondu, Mario watched the Ravager captain and his crew depart. He stood alone on the barren plain of his newly acquired planet.
"Time to bring in the team."
He climbed back aboard the ship and copied the updated star map data.
---
Earth.
Mario pulled out his phone and called Ivan.
The Russian answered quickly. "You're back already?"
"Yeah, went smoothly. I found a perfect planet for what we need." Mario walked through his underground base toward the Nether portal. "I came back to get everyone. We're all heading out there together to start development."
Ivan's excitement was audible even through the phone. His mind flashed back to six months ago, trapped in a frozen Siberian shack, watching his father suffer through terminal illness with no hope of treatment. Then Mario had shown up with a job offer backed by a rifle, and everything had changed.
"I'll start preparations immediately."
"Hold on," Mario interrupted. "Is Kaecilius with you? If not, find one of his students and have them open a portal to Central Park to pick me up."
Ivan glanced around the workshop. "Kaecilius isn't on Earth right now. Should be in Asgard. I'll find one of his people."
"Works for me. I'll wait at home."
After hanging up, Mario settled onto his couch. He pulled up a different number and dialed.
A tired voice answered after several rings. "Mr. Argento? What brings you to call at this hour?"
"Dr. Erik, I've got news you're definitely going to want to hear."
Selvig was Jane's mentor and one of the world's leading astrophysicists. With Mario's generous funding, he now had his own private laboratory and unlimited resources for his research. That's why he called Mario "Mr. Argento," money made everything simpler.
"What news?" Erik's interest was immediately piqued.
"I found a habitable planet in deep space. Human-compatible atmosphere, stable ecosystem, the whole package."
Complete silence from the other end.
Mario felt a spike of panic. "Dr. Erik? Erik! Hey, don't have a heart attack on me! Maybe I should've told you this in person..."
At that moment, a portal burst open in his living room with a shower of golden sparks. A young sorcerer stepped through, nodding respectfully.
"Mr. Argento."
Mario was about to ask for another portal to Erik's location when the scientist's voice came through the phone.
"Real... really? Sorry, I got so excited I couldn't breathe for a moment. A habitable planet... do you understand how monumental this discovery is?"
He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "Let me... let me process this."
As an astrophysicist, he understood exactly how significant this was. Habitable planets were theoretical gold mines, the kind of discovery that rewrote careers.
"I know you're excited, but don't get too worked up yet. Of course I'm bringing you along. But that planet is extremely far from Earth. I need your help studying the Tesseract's power to open a stable spatial tunnel."
Erik agreed without hesitation. This wasn't even a difficult request, whether it was visiting a new world or studying the Tesseract, both opportunities would benefit him enormously.
Mario had the young sorcerer open a portal to fetch Erik, then transport both of them to the African spacecraft facility.
The moment they stepped through, Tony flew over in his latest armor iteration.
"You're back already? That was fast."
Mario rubbed his temples, having learned his lesson about explaining complicated situations. He waited for Ivan to arrive before giving everyone a quick briefing about the planet and handing over the updated star map.
"Tony, I need you to work with Dr. Erik studying the Tesseract. Whether we're talking about Earth or Asgard, the distance to that planet is astronomical. I want to use the Tesseract's power to open a stable portal for free travel."
Tony landed his armor on a platform and popped open the faceplate. "The Tesseract? What's that?"
Mario suddenly remembered, Tony had no knowledge of the Tesseract at this point in the timeline. Even after hacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s entire database, he wouldn't have found any records since they'd classified it as Object 0-8-4.
From his inventory, he produced the glowing blue cube. "This thing. You two can study it together."
---
Two weeks later, the underground facility in Africa was transformed into a wormhole research station.
A group of scientists stood before a massive circular portal frame, conducting final integrity checks on the equipment. The frame itself was over four meters in diameter, constructed from reinforced alloys and lined with intricate circuitry.
"The Cosmic Cube is fully charged. We can attempt opening the spatial wormhole whenever you're ready."
Selvig stood at the nearby control console, monitoring streams of data flowing across multiple screens. After two weeks of intensive research with Tony and the other scientists, they were finally ready to attempt channeling the Cube's energy into a functional wormhole.
"Step back to a safe distance!"
Mario said as he waved the scientists away from the portal frame. They quickly retreated behind reinforced barriers.
"Kaecilius, send them to the New York facility."
The sorcerer nodded and opened a portal. One by one, the scientists stepped through to safety. Soon the underground chamber fell silent, leaving only Selvig, Tony, Ivan, Kaecilius, and Mario.
Tony studied the Tesseract secured within its containment apparatus. "This experiment could be dangerous. Everyone should be prepared."
He paused, then added, "I think we should all suit up."
Mario agreed immediately. "For safety, everyone into your armor. This is a wormhole, we have no idea what might come through from the other side. Whatever appears, we attack first and ask questions later. If we can't handle it, we retreat. Clear?"
If Loki walks through offering Infinity Stones, that'd be a nice bonus. But with Odin and the Ancient One still active, I doubt Thanos would risk a personal appearance.
Everyone donned their armor, including Kaecilius. Tony had built him a custom suit over the past two weeks, mostly because Kaecilius couldn't accept Ivan's "engineering aesthetic."
Several minutes later, with everyone suited up and positioned around the portal frame, Mario gave the order.
"Activate the wormhole!"
The entire chamber shuddered. The Tesseract's light intensified, and a beam of brilliant blue energy erupted from the cube, striking the portal frame.
First, a pinpoint singularity appeared in the air. Then it rapidly expanded into a flat, circular surface.
"Did... did it work?" Ivan asked.
But Selvig's expression inside his armor's HUD was troubled. He was closely monitoring the portal's readings, and something felt wrong.
"This isn't right. Normally, once a wormhole stabilizes, we should be able to see what's on the other side, like when Kaecilius opens his portals."
Hearing that, Mario frowned. He recalled how, in the movies, when Loki summoned the Chitauri army, the wormhole created by the Tesseract had clearly shown the vastness of space beyond, and the massive alien fleet waiting there. Similarly, when Thor sent him back from Asgard to Central Park, he caught a brief glimpse of the city.
"Stay alert. I'm going to check it out."
He stepped toward the portal.
Ivan reached out, catching Mario's shoulder. "It's too dangerous. No matter where that strange wormhole leads, it's full of unknowns. Let me go instead."
Mario looked at Ivan in his heavy assault armor and smiled behind his faceplate. "I appreciate the offer, but I still need you to help reconstruct that planet. I'll go. Don't worry, killing me isn't as easy as it looks."
He pulled free and strode toward the rippling blue surface. "If I don't come back right away, it just means something delayed me on the other side. Don't panic, I'll return soon."
As the words left his mouth, a sudden thought struck him.
Oh shit, did I just raise about a dozen death flags?
The moment Mario's figure vanished into the portal, the Tesseract seemed to weaken.
Kaecilius reacted immediately. He opened a portal directly in front of the unstable wormhole and leaped through without hesitation.
Perhaps because it had to send another person, the Tesseract completely lost its glow this time, turning dark and lifeless.
"Damn it! What just happened?!"
Ivan's armor's faceplate snapped open. The heavy combat suit stomped forward, heading straight for Selvig.
Tony quickly moved between them. "Hold on! Calm down! Mario will be fine. He will come back. I promise."
Ivan glared at him, raising his Uru chain-sword. "If you've got time to talk, use it to check the equipment, and that damned Cosmic Cube!"
"Both of you shut the hell up!!"
Usually mild-mannered Selvig suddenly roared. He popped open his armor and leaped out, rushing to the console to analyze the recorded data.
"No... no, there must be something. There has to be."
His hands flew across the holographic displays, pulling up energy readings and spatial coordinates. A generous sponsor, someone who had never caused problems, who had funded his wildest research dreams, had just vanished during his experiment. He couldn't accept it.
Without realizing it, Mario had become the bond connecting all of them.
Ivan and Tony exchanged a long look, then stepped out of their armor to join Selvig at the console.
Several minutes passed.
The once-dim Tesseract began glowing again, gradually building back to full power.
Under Selvig's control, it shot another beam of blue energy into the portal frame, forming a new circular wormhole. Through the opening, they could clearly see a planet, the same small world Mario had described.
But none of them looked relieved. Selvig stared at the data streams for a long moment before speaking quietly.
"The previous wormhole was interfered with by some kind of external energy signature. I'm reading... quantum fluctuations consistent with another dimensional bridge activating simultaneously."
Ivan had calmed down somewhat. He stared at the small planet visible through the portal.
"No matter where he went, I'm finishing the mission he left us."
---
Mario felt nothing as he stepped through the portal. He found himself in a massive chamber filled with advanced technology he didn't recognize.
Before he could take a proper look around, something slammed into him from behind, sending him flying.
Using his physical strength, he caught himself mid-air and twisted around. He saw Kaecilius standing there in his armor, the portal slowly collapsing behind him.
"Why did you follow me?!"