In the end.
Supergiant never reunited with the rest of the Black Order.
Instead, she encountered all the members of the Avengers, Black Bolt, Namor the King of the Sea… and many others who had gathered.
...
"What?"
"Just one?"
Honestly, if it hadn't been for Tony Stark suddenly running in and announcing that they had captured Supergiant, Aron would have completely forgotten that she was actually only one of the five members of the Black Order.
"So, this Supergiant was sent to find the Soul Stone?"
"No wonder…"
Aron suddenly realized.
In fact, he already knew where the Soul Stone was.
Everyone who watched Avengers 3 knows that Gamora, Thanos's adopted daughter, had long ago discovered its location but hid it from him.
"Aron, if we add the Soul Stone, then we now have a total of five stones!" Tony said excitedly. "We just need to recover the Power Stone and we're complete!"
His voice trembled with excitement, as if the stones were being gathered for him personally.
"The Power Stone?"
Only then did Aron remember Thanos.
Trapped in the DC universe for so long, he wasn't sure if the purple tyrant was even still alive.
Logically speaking… probably not.
After all, both Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight were dead.
According to what he had heard from Proxima before she died, the last place they had been was Apokolips.
The planet ruled by Darkseid.
Interesting.
To think that Thanos and Darkseid might meet…
There's something ironic about that.
Because, according to the comics, Darkseid was actually the inspiration for Thanos.
Both characters were created by the same artist: he first created Darkseid for DC, and then, when he moved to Marvel, created Thanos.
"Forget it. Let it settle for a bit. I'll summon him again later."
Aron waved his hand. "Now, let's go see that Supergiant."
He was genuinely curious.
The Black Order was a group he had heard much about, but had never had the chance to see up close.
"You have to be careful," Tony warned.
"Her powers are… tricky. Supergiant is a telepath, she can break into other people's minds, change their thoughts, even force them to act against their will."
His tone was serious.
Capturing Supergiant hadn't been easy; they had worked on it for days.
"So, she has telepathic powers? Like Professor X?" Aron asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who's X?" Tony looked confused.
"…Forget it." Aron smiled and shook his head. "I'll show him to you one day in a parallel universe."
Then he opened a portal to the city of Attilan on the Moon, and before Tony could say anything, Aron gently pushed him through it.
---
Next scene.
DC-EU universe.
On the surface of a meteor, Thanos stood motionless, gasping for air that didn't exist in the vacuum.
"Thanos, you are a good warrior. Submit to me."
Before him rose a mighty figure, Darkseid. He stood upright, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at Thanos sideways, his eyes glowing crimson.
"I am interested in your world."
"Surrender to me and show me the way."
Darkseid's words echoed through the cosmos like thunder.
He destroyed him over and over again, but Thanos kept resurrecting. His flesh and blood would reform from nothing, as if the universe itself refused to erase him.
"You want to conquer my world?" Thanos laughed, cold and fearless.
"You can't kill me, Darkseid! The death of your world cannot accept me, and the death of mine has rejected me! Therefore… I am immortal!"
"Nothing is immortal!" shouted Darkseid.
From his eyes shot two red beams, Omega beams. They curved through space, chasing Thanos no matter how many times he dodged. He flew between meteors, but the beams kept twisting and following him until they finally struck.
Thanos's body exploded in a flash of red light, disintegrating and evaporating into nothingness. Darkseid watched coldly.
But in the next instant, from the void emerged a massive purple hand. New matter formed out of nowhere, and in a moment, Thanos was standing before him again, unscathed.
"Come on," he said with a smile. "I can do this all day."
Darkseid was silent.
The reason he had even paid attention to the Marvel universe was an event he had seen himself, the moment when the dying Proxima Midnight was enveloped in white light. He had tried to stop that light… but he couldn't.
There was nothing that could stop that light.
For the first time in his endless life, Darkseid felt — fear.
It was a power beyond all comprehension. Something that surpassed even his Omega Effect and the Anti-Life Equation.
Darkseid then made a decision: he had to find the source of that white light. He had to reach the Marvel universe and claim that power for himself.
But he had overlooked one thing, Thanos would never surrender.
Looking at that tireless Titan who kept rising again and again, Darkseid, for a brief moment, saw his own shadow in his eyes.
"Build me the strongest cage and lock him in it forever," he ordered coldly.
Darkseid knew he couldn't break him, but he could imprison him.
That, however, didn't mean he had given up his plans.
"DeSaad," he said in an emotionless tone. "Have you locked onto the coordinates of that other universe?"
"They are locked, Your Majesty," his scientist replied, bowing his head. "But it's useless."
DeSaad, the scientist and torturer of Apokolips, was a master of advanced technologies.
"Corvus Glaive revealed those coordinates before his death," he continued. "They are the coordinates of planet Earth in their universe. But our universe and theirs are currently separated. Even if we know the coordinates, we cannot teleport."
"Why?"
"Because our universes are in a phase of separation. Only when they draw near again, when a collision occurs and cracks between dimensions appear, will we be able to pass through."
Darkseid looked at him coldly, and DeSaad quickly added:
"But… there is a way. We must wait for the next cosmic collision."
"How long?"
"Not too long, Your Majesty," said DeSaad with barely contained excitement. "According to my calculations, our universe and theirs attract each other like two stars in a binary system. After a short orbit… they will collide. And then…"
He paused and looked at his master with admiration.
"Then you will become the ruler of both universes, Your Majesty."