"Dr. Banner, I'm going to need your help again."
Professor Hulk's arm had fully recovered. Mario couldn't be certain, but he seemed... bigger. His frame carried more muscle mass than before, and his hair, previously streaked with gray, showed hints of returning to its natural dark color.
In the movies, Hulk's power came directly from gamma energy, and the Infinity Stones radiated massive amounts of it. Two snaps meant he had absorbed enough ambient radiation to reverse some of his body's deterioration, restoring fragments of his former strength.
He looked down at the damaged Infinity Gauntlet on his arm, then at the layer of dead skin that had peeled away and fallen to the ground. His expression turned helpless.
Seeing Banner's face, Mario couldn't help but chuckle. "Relax, you don't have to snap your fingers this time. Just use the Time Stone to restore Vision's body to the moment right before the Mind Stone was removed."
"Thank God." Relief flooded Banner's features, and the faint greenish tint to his skin faded back to normal. "That snapping thing is painful. I'm good with literally anything else."
The snap was already complete. He reached up, extracted his own Soul Stone from the gauntlet, and inserted it into his personal Infinity Gauntlet. As for the other Stones scattered across this battlefield, he had no real attachment to them. With quantum tunnel technology and Pym Particles, Infinity Stones were basically renewable resources.
Just like that drawer full of them at the TVA.
They waited. Minutes ticked by. Then Scarlet Witch came flying back, carrying Vision's body in her arms. Without the Mind Stone, Vision's form had turned a dull gray-white, all color drained from both his synthetic skin and the vibranium beneath.
Mario pulled two wooden boards from his inventory and laid them on the ground. "Put him here."
The long flight had clearly exhausted Scarlet Witch. She set Vision down, then collapsed beside him, breathing hard. Mario waved his hand, and a healing totem sprouted from the earth nearby. It wouldn't restore much stamina, but every little bit helped.
Looking at her sweat-soaked face and trembling hands, he pulled a bucket of milk from his inventory and offered it to her. Her mental state had been deteriorating ever since Vision's death, he could see it in her eyes.
"You flew way too fast. You could've just used a portal, you know."
Scarlet Witch shot him a look that said really? but didn't waste breath responding.
"Drink the milk. It's good for you. Well... it should be."
Scarlet Witch didn't question whether Mario had ulterior motives. Why would she? Vision wasn't revived yet. If drinking poison would bring him back, she'd drain the cup without hesitation.
Glug, glug, glug.
The milk went down. Almost immediately, she felt her mind clear, like fog burning away under morning sun. All those dark, violent thoughts that had been circling her brain, they simply evaporated.
Before she could ask what was in that milk, exhaustion hit her. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she slumped forward, her head coming to rest on Vision's chest.
Banner stepped forward and checked her pulse. "She's fine. Just sleeping. Probably tired."
Ever since Vision's death, Scarlet Witch's mental state had swung wildly between hysteria and eerie calm. Sleep was probably the best medicine for her right now.
Mario nodded and laid two more wooden boards beside Vision. Using a spell to levitate Scarlet Witch onto the bed, then joined Banner beside Vision's body to study the Time Stone's mechanics.
"Try communicating with the Time Stone."
Banner nodded solemnly and extended his hand. The Time Stone flared to life. Intricate magical patterns appeared on the gauntlet's surface, rotating around his wrist as he twisted his hand.
Vision's body didn't change.
"Is it... not working?"
Mario studied Vision's form. Then Strange floated over.
"It's working. Time is reversing. But Vision's been gone for years, this will take a while."
Years had passed since Thanos destroyed Vision. Even reversing time required... well, time.
"Spin it faster."
Banner's expression grew intense as he focused every ounce of concentration on the Time Stone, rotating his wrist in rapid circles.
Several minutes later, the gaping wound in Vision's forehead finally began to change. It was like watching invisible hands reconstruct shattered glass, piece by microscopic piece.
Mario took the Mind Stone from Scarlet Witch's grip and stepped up beside Vision. He took a deep breath.
Click.
The Mind Stone settled into Vision's forehead. Instantly, color flooded back into his gray form. His eyes opened.
Mario tensed, ready to rip the Stone back out at the first sign of trouble.
Vision sat up from the wooden platform and looked directly at him. A grateful smile crossed his synthetic features. "Thank you very much, Mr. Argento."
"You know me?"
Vision nodded as he stood. "After the Mind Stone was destroyed, my consciousness fell into complete darkness. I didn't awaken until a new Mind Stone appeared in this universe."
Mario's frown deepened. "So even inside the Stone, you could see what was happening outside?"
"I could observe, yes. But there was no way to interact with reality."
Why does that sound familiar?
Mario watched Vision walk toward Scarlet Witch. He seemed fine, but his words raised an uncomfortable question.
If Vision could observe the outside world from within the Mind Stone... did that mean Red Skull could see everything from inside the Soul Stone?
His thoughts drifted.
Vision gazed lovingly at Scarlet Witch, still asleep on the wooden boards. The affection radiating from him was so intense that everyone nearby instinctively took several steps back.
Mario looked up at the mothership in the sky and sighed. "Tech advances way too damn fast."
Then his gaze shifted to Rocket, who stood near the edge of the group clutching a baby Groot.
Rocket immediately felt Mario's stare. "Hey... what're you looking at me like that for? I'm warning you, I'm a weapon engineer. You really don't want to see what this baby can do."
He patted something that looked disturbingly like a jury-rigged plasma cannon.
Mario stepped forward with a smile. "That's exactly what I need."
With Rocket's help, dealing with a single mothership would be simple. And as for convincing him to cooperate... well, for Mario, that would be equally simple.
Ivan and Tony stared at Rocket with expressions that could only be described as greedy hunger. They couldn't help it.
A talking raccoon knew more about advanced technology than both of them combined.
Mario shook his head. "Stop drooling. He's not staying, he can't leave the Guardians of the Galaxy."
Rocket, currently working at a control console, heard Mario's comment and immediately bristled. "I'm just staying to take care of Groot! The Guardians don't mean anything to me!"
Mario's smile widened. "Oh really?"
"Then how about you and Groot both come with me when I leave?"
This time Rocket just kept his head down and worked in silence. After so many years, the Guardians had become his family. He wasn't abandoning them.
Seeing Ivan's disappointed expression, Mario laughed. "There's only one Rocket in our universe. I had the Ravagers searching for him ages ago, but no luck. Though after this... I have a feeling we'll be running into him again soon enough."
Ivan nodded, though the disappointment lingered. He wouldn't even admit defeat to Tony, but today this raccoon had schooled him thoroughly.
"With his help, ship construction on the small planet will take off exponentially."
"Yeah. Rocket's innate talent makes him one-of-a-kind. I'll leave this to you, I need to check on the Pym Particle production."
Mario turned and left the cockpit.
---
"Are the Pym Particles ready?"
"Sufficient quantity has been produced to allow the mothership one passage through the quantum tunnel."
The deep voice came from Thanos. Mario walked to the Mad Titan's side and looked up at the massive glass container filled with red Pym Particles.
This was the Thanos whose head had been severed by Thor. He had brought the corpse aboard the mothership and cast Resurrection.
At first, he'd tried to resist. But Mario hadn't used force, he'd engaged in debate. After a five-hour philosophical argument about resources, population control, and the nature of scarcity, he had "joined" Team Mario.
Faced with the concept of Minecraft's literally infinite resources, he had fully recognized the flaws in his ideology. He'd admitted his previous thinking had been narrow-minded, and impulsive.
Now he was dedicated to supporting Mario's vision instead.
So Thanos worked diligently on Pym Particle production. While other Earth scientists found the particles impossible to replicate, for Thanos it was child's play.
The Mad Titan wasn't just a warrior, he was one of the universe's top scientists.
Mario studiedhim with a serious expression. "Are you really decided on going to farm in the Garden? You're done with everything else?"
A smile of relief crossed Thanos' features. "Yes. I want to transform the entire Garden into farmland."
He held up a dirt block, a gift Mario had given him earlier when demonstrating farming abilities.
The block's fertility never depleted. Plant crops and harvest every three days with zero resource consumption. It completely broke conventional agricultural laws.
Mario felt that Thanos had reformed, dedicating himself entirely to becoming a farmer. Which was... slightly different from his original plan to build a Thanos Legion.
He tried one last time. "There's another Thanos in my universe..."
Without hesitation, Thanos replied, "I can persuade him. If persuasion fails, I'll kill him myself. He won't interfere with any of your plans."
Mario: "..."
Holy shit. Now that's ruthless. The same guy who'd sacrificed Gamora without hesitation to get the Soul Stone. Someone capable of being that hard on himself was rare indeed.
He didn't know why Thanos was so confident he could kill his parallel-universe counterpart. But then again, who knew you better than yourself?
"Alright. When we get back, I'll send you to the Garden. When I need you, I'll come find you."
Mario waved and left Thanos' laboratory.
---
"Finally home!"
Mario stepped through Kaecilius' portal and immediately threw himself onto his beloved sofa.
"What a haul this trip was..."
"Lost one Mind Stone, gained Vision with an embedded one plus Scarlet Witch. Not a bad trade at all. When I need the Stone later, I can just remove it from his head."
He'd also obtained the exact coordinates of the Power Stone's location. If he wanted, he could pilot a ship right now and retrieve it.
But after this "business trip" to a parallel universe, he wanted a few days of rest. The Stone wasn't going anywhere, and it would be years before Star-Lord even set out to find the Orb.
Kaecilius had returned with him. Mario pulled out the Darkhold and tossed it to the sorcerer.
"Do you still have the milk I gave you before?"
The Darkhold was powerful, but its greatest strength was corrupting hearts. Kaecilius was too important to lose to that book's influence.
"I have plenty of milk left, but..." Kaecilius caught the Darkhold, looking hesitant.
Mario was surprised by the expression. In his experience, Kaecilius was typically a man of few words, like most Kamar-Taj sorcerers. But when he did speak, he was straightforward and decisive.
"What is it? If something's bothering you, just say it. This isn't like you."
Mario sat up from the sofa, giving Kaecilius his full attention.
"I've found a way to enter Hell... in the Darkhold."
Mario's frown deepened. He knew enough about Marvel's Hell to know what that meant. Kaecilius' obsession was reviving his family, but resurrection in the Marvel universe was never simple.
Mephisto, the demon who ruled Hell, wasn't someone to be trifled with. He wouldn't just let souls be taken. What would that do to his reputation as Lord of Hell?
Mario thought for a long moment, then looked up seriously at Kaecilius.
"For now, spend time at Kamar-Taj studying the Hell dimension thoroughly."
"With our current power, we have no way to enter Hell and defeat the demon lords who rule there. You know as well as I do that in their own realms, their strength increases exponentially. What you need to do is focus on improving your own abilities. But be careful, don't let the Darkhold corrupt you before you even get the chance to revive your family."
Kaecilius nodded silently, clutching the Darkhold. As Kamar-Taj's sworn enemy, he knew Mephisto well.
None of Hell's demon lords were simple opponents.
As Mario watched Kaecilius' figure fade through a portal, an image appeared in his mind, a flaming skull wreathed in hellfire.