Malrick hovered in open space, raising his hands as the power of the Infinity Stones pulsed around him.
Their combined energy streamed outward, wrapping him in a shifting glow of vibrant colors.
From his perspective, the Universes' entangled rules unraveled like threads being carefully pulled from a tightly woven cocoon.
He separated each connection with precise, almost surgical control.
For the heroes watching from the edge of Earth's atmosphere, the scene looked completely different.
To them, Malrick seemed to be performing a rapid, impossible piano solo in the middle of the cosmic void, tapping invisible keys at a speed none of them could follow.
Each motion of his fingers sent bursts of Infinity Stone energy into the Universe.
Those bursts flowed along unseen pathways, branching off into slender currents before disappearing into the dark.
In truth, the energy was traveling through the threads of cosmic rules, breaking apart the entanglement that held the two Earths together.
Malrick moved so quickly that the Stones' energy resembled shimmering strings vibrating across space.
The process did not take long.
Ten minutes later, Malrick finally paused.
He lifted his palm and pushed it toward the Main Universe's Earth.
A beam of concentrated Infinity Stone power shot forward, striking the barrier around the Main Universe.
Slowly, the Earth began to drift backward.
The two planets separated completely, and the second Earth faded from sight.
"Done."
Malrick lowered his hand and felt a surge of vast, overwhelming force feeding back into his Rege Duo Clone.
That sensation confirmed it.
The collision crisis was fully resolved.
"Good. Another day of saving the world, doing the right thing, and getting stronger."
He turned and flew back toward the b2 Universe's Earth.
Several ships hovered outside the atmosphere, packed with people.
Kara and Captain Marvel floated nearby, still on alert.
Malrick gave them an OK gesture before diving down toward the planet.
"What does that even mean? Did he just casually fix a Universe collision?" Rocket Raccoon muttered, his expression blank with disbelief.
Banner rubbed his temples.
"It seems like it. Did he seriously use the Infinity Stones by… playing some kind of piano?"
The b2 Iron Man said nothing.
He thought back to the frantic sleepless nights, the experiments, the desperate brainstorming, the constant failures.
They hadn't even found the right direction.
Malrick arrived, moved his hands for a few minutes, and solved it.
And somehow he wasn't even hurt.
Everyone had always said that wielding the Infinity Stones carried deadly backlash.
Countless Iron Men across various timelines had died snapping their fingers.
Yet Malrick looked perfectly fine.
A mix of disbelief and frustration churned in the b2 Iron Man's chest.
Then Tony from the s Universe clapped him on the shoulder and grinned smugly.
"That's my younger brother. Not bad, right? He's about half as charming as me."
The b2 Iron Man's mouth twitched.
His emotions were too tangled to respond.
Suddenly, a hoarse, unpleasant laugh echoed from one of the ships.
It sounded like a duck being strangled.
Deadpool, wrapped head-to-toe in white bandages, peeked out with sunken eyes.
"Peter, come on, take me back! We need to find Superman and make him teach me whatever piano trick Malrick just used!"
Holland's Spider-Man, who had brought Deadpool for backup, struggled to keep him upright.
"That wasn't a piano piece. And even if it was, it's still something normal people can't comprehend."
"So what? If I let Superman use my ass, will he teach me? I want to play that tune for Vanessa!" Deadpool declared proudly.
"Nobody wants your ass! Dear God, shut up!" Holland snapped, losing patience.
The ships descended one by one.
Once everyone was on the ground, they finally heard Malrick's explanation firsthand.
Relief swept through the teams of both the s Universe and the Main Universe.
For the first time in two days, they could breathe normally.
The two Captain Americas sat together with Carter, talking quietly.
The older Steve was preparing to leave.
His time in this parallel world had reminded him of responsibilities he still needed to complete in his own Universe.
The younger Steve and Carter didn't want him to go, especially Carter, but they respected his choice.
Nearby, Banner spoke with General Ross and Emil Blonsky.
He asked Ross when he planned to record the video message for the Ross of the s Universe, but the former President avoided the topic.
He clearly didn't want Betty marrying Banner and was rethinking the idea.
Banner kept trying to convince him patiently.
While those two Universes felt calm relief, the people of the b2 Universe experienced an overwhelming sense of survival and release.
Their emotions had been battered constantly these past few days.
First, they gathered the Stones to fix everything, but were hunted down by Thanos and nearly annihilated.
Thanos died, and they thought stability had returned.
Then they learned a Universe collision was coming, and that their Universe was the one doomed to be sacrificed.
The emotional whiplash nearly crushed them.
When they finally heard the crisis was over, Ant-Man Scott hugged Rocket and Groot and burst into tears.
The b2 Captain America collapsed backward onto the ground, staring at the blue sky while gulping down breaths of air.
Iron Man, meanwhile, had no reaction at all.
The moment he inhaled, his nose twitched, and he almost lost control.
Tony placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, buddy. If you need to cry, go ahead. You're a bit more fragile than me, not very fitting for the name Iron Man, but I get it."
Iron Man kept his face stiff, refusing to break down in front of everyone.
Tony discreetly flashed a peace sign at Jarvis.
Everything changed when Pepper from the b2 Universe arrived with little Morgan.
Iron Man held Morgan close, kissed her cheek, and listened as she whispered, "I love you three thousand."
He shot Tony a triumphant wink.
Tony could only feel envy rising in his chest.
"Jarvis, do you think Pepper and I will have a daughter? Like Morgan."
"I'm not sure, sir. I could calculate the probabilities, but I don't recommend it."
"I didn't mean that. I'm just saying… if Pepper has a son instead, and he's not as cute as Morgan, I'll have Malrick smack him around every day."
"That sounds reasonable, sir."
Elsewhere, Doctor Strange of the Main Universe approached Malrick.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Stark," Strange said sincerely.
"So polite? Just call me Malrick."
He nodded.
"Then Malrick, thank you for saving both Universes. And… actually, I heard Dormammu mention you when I visited the Dark Dimension."
____
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