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177A Bleecker Street. Greenwich Village, New York.
The Sanctum smelled like sandalwood and tuna.
Stephen Strange was mid-bite into his lunch. Wong stood nearby, counting coins with an expression grim enough to suggest he was calculating the odds of multiversal collapse — when in reality, he was wondering if he could afford extra meat on the deli sandwich next door.
"Can't you just conjure money?" Strange asked through a mouthful of bread. "Or sell that vase?"
"That is a desecration of the mystic arts, Stephen." Wong pocketed the coins with the solemnity of a funeral director. "Material conversion disrupts the economic anchors of the real world. More troublesome than a Dormammu invasion."
BZZZ—!!
The air in the center of the hall shattered like a mirror. A swirling portal — green-edged, carrying bone-deep cold from deep space — tore open and dropped the room temperature to freezing.
"Sharp!"
Strange conjured a shield. Wong ignited the Rings of Raggadorr. Combat stances.
The figure that stepped through was a black-haired teenager brushing ice crystals off his jacket with the expression of a man who'd had a very long day.
"Damn it — next time I need to regulate body temperature before the Arctiguana transformation ends."
Jake closed the portal behind him, glanced at the two sorcerers in fighting positions, and waved. "Hey, Strange. Wong. What's for lunch? Just had a dogfight with a warship in deep space. Blood sugar's bottomed out."
Strange dismissed the shield. "How did you end up looking like you crawled out of a freezer? This cold — you've frozen the ether."
Jake dropped into an antique chair. The humor left his face.
"Stop eating. Both of you. We've got a problem."
He pointed at the ceiling — through it, into the void beyond.
"Asgard is destroyed. A being called Thanos — I call him the Purple Sweet Potato Spirit — is heading for Earth with a fleet and a crew of subordinates who look like they crawled out of a horror franchise. His target is that pendant around your neck. The Time Stone."
"Thanos?" Wong's magic circle flickered. "The Mad Titan?"
"You've heard of him." Jake nodded. "He already has the Power Stone. This is a cosmic-level crisis."
"I need to contact Tony Stark immediately." Strange stood, already opening a communication spell. "We need the Avengers."
"Already handled."
Jake raised his wrist and pressed a red comm button on the Omnitrix. "I have a faster way. And the Avengers alone won't be enough. We need the professionals."
Five minutes later.
A flashy Audi screeched to a halt outside. Tony Stark burst through the Sanctum's front door, ripped off his sunglasses, and jabbed a finger at Jake's chest.
"I was discussing gluten-free cake options with Pepper for the wedding — this is a life event! — and then your Plumbers chip starts vibrating in my pocket. Pepper thought I was having another heart attack!"
"If I hadn't called, you might not have a wedding to plan."
Jake stood. No jokes. No grin.
"Tony — remember the cosmic threat I warned you about? The madman who wants to kill half of all life to achieve his environmental dream?"
Tony's expression locked. The shadow he'd carried since the Battle of New York — the one that woke him at 3 AM, the one that built Ultron, the one that no amount of therapy could dissolve — finally had a face.
"You mean... he's here?"
"On his way. And his advance team just arrived."
As if on cue — the clear sky turned to gale. Leaves and trash spiraled into the air. Pedestrians screamed.
A massive donut-shaped spaceship broke through the clouds and hovered over Manhattan. Its engines shattered windows for six blocks. The shadow covered entire intersections.
"Whoa." Tony's nano-reactor was already glowing. "That's bigger than the whale from New York."
"Let's go say hello."
Jake led the way out. Strange donned the Cloak of Levitation. Wong lit dual magic circles. Tony tapped his chest — the Mark 50 flowed over his body like living metal.
The street.
Two figures descended on a blue tractor beam.
Cull Obsidian — massive, axe in hand, built for demolition.
Ebony Maw — pale, elegant, radiating the particular disdain of someone who considered every being around him livestock.
"Hear me, and rejoice—"
"STOP. Cut it out."
Jake's voice sliced through the sermon.
"Same lines? Again? Do you villains share one copywriter? I heard this speech twenty minutes ago in deep space. At least change the material."
Maw saw Jake, and his elegant mask cracked. Recognition. Rage.
"You... the Earthling." His voice dropped to a hiss. "Father has placed a considerable bounty on your head. Since you've delivered yourself to us — we'll take you with the Stone."
"Then he's going to go bankrupt."
Jake turned to Tony and Strange. "Tony — the big one is yours and the kid who'll be swinging by any second. Doctor — protect your Stone."
"And you?" Tony's repulsors were charged.
The Omnitrix shimmered green in the sunlight.
"Me?"
Jake connected to the Plumbers' war channel.
"Gwen — teleport everyone into position. Let's give our guests a Plumbers welcome."
"Copy! Teleportation array — ACTIVATE!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three massive green portals ripped open beneath the donut ship.
From the left: Steve Rogers — bearded, battle-hardened, vibranium shield raised. Behind him, Bucky Barnes — the Plumbers' nano-vibranium arm gleaming on his left side.
From the right: Falcon — wings deployed, banking into a combat approach. Scott Lang — riding a giant flying ant with the particular expression of a man who would never get used to this.
From the center: Wanda — red coat, Chaos Magic blazing in her eyes. Behind her, Gwen — Ghost-Spider, white suit, blonde hair escaping her hood, web-shooters locked and loaded.
"Tony."
Steve looked at the man in the nano-armor. Complex eyes. Firm jaw. The shield was back on his arm — a new one, Plumbers-issue — but the posture was the same one that had carried it into every fight since 1943.
"We need to fight this one together."
Tony looked at the man he'd broken with in Siberia. Under the faceplate, the corner of his mouth turned up.
"You're late, Old Popsicle." A beat. "But I'll forgive you this time."
The Plumbers. The Avengers. Full roster. United.
Ebony Maw surveyed the army that had materialized from nowhere and — for the first time in his long, superior existence — showed genuine surprise.
The intelligence had not mentioned this level of defensive force.
Jake stood at the front of the formation. The entire team at his back.
He slammed the Omnitrix.
"It's Hero Time!"
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