Reed and Renzo worked side by side in the laboratory, developing a device that could prevent the red mist from invading the human body.
Even the best gas masks could only block the red mist for a short time—two or three hours at most. The mist wasn't an ordinary toxic gas but condensed chaos magic, an extremely corrosive form of dark magic. Even without direct exposure, it could seep through the body's pores and gradually drive people insane.
What Renzo wanted was a device that could temporarily resist the mist's corruption. At present, the only thing known to counter it was the power of the Mind Stone, whose energy could cleanse the mind and wash away the dark contamination.
"These should block the red mist for at least six hours." Reed held up a small badge, narrowing his eyes in satisfaction.
The badges were tiny energy containers Reed had designed. Renzo supplied the power, releasing the Mind Stone's energy at maximum output before transferring it into the badges through an energy converter.
The entire process was efficient and remarkably smooth.
"Perfect." Reed couldn't help smiling. It wasn't a permanent solution, but it would ease the immediate crisis. All he needed was enough time for the two of them to find a real answer.
"There are still survivors in Attilan. They escaped through the waterways into the ocean, and the Soul Stone is with them," Renzo said. "I don't know exactly where they are, but I can find them."
He tapped his forehead.
Infinity Stones naturally resonated with one another. The connection was as instinctive as an elephant sensing vibrations through the ground or a bat navigating with echolocation.
One Mind Stone could only resist the mist.
With two...
He could launch a counterattack.
Renzo firmly believed he understood the Mind Stone better than anyone. It was completely immune to mental manipulation. In his eyes, it functioned like a vast psychic network. If he wanted, he could connect the minds of most of humanity. Loki had never truly understood the scepter he carried into battle, treating one of the most powerful artifacts in existence like an ordinary weapon.
"Triton," Reed said, "one of the Inhumans. He can't survive without water. Well... technically we all need water, but not like that. You know what I mean."
As he spoke, his arm stretched across the room to retrieve a tool from the opposite workbench.
Renzo watched with unconcealed envy.
Being able to extend your arms whenever you wanted...
That was every man's dream.
His expression darkened.
He had secretly mentioned that exact thought to Tony once.
Tony had laughed so hard he fell off the sofa. With tears streaming down his face, the mustached genius pointed at Renzo before glancing downward.
"That's unbelievable! A cyborg worrying about something like that? I never saw that coming!"
Then Tony had declared that he would help.
After all, Ultron had created Renzo, and Ultron had been created by Tony.
By that logic...
Renzo was practically Tony's grandson.
"Relax," Tony had said dramatically. "I'm Tony Stark. There's no way I'm letting my grandson suffer like that."
Renzo shot Reed a resentful glare.
The stretchy scientist blinked in confusion.
For some reason, he suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of hostility directed at him.
"Huh..."
He rubbed the back of his neck, inexplicably feeling as though someone wanted to chop his head off.
"So..." Renzo cleared his throat. "How did you get your powers?"
"Me?" Reed paused, setting down his tools. "No one's asked me that in a long time."
He grew unusually quiet.
"A cosmic storm. We encountered it during a space mission, and its cosmic radiation became part of the five of us."
A nostalgic smile appeared in his eyes.
"Myself, Susan, Johnny, Ben... and..."
His voice trailed off.
He couldn't bring himself to say the last name.
Renzo already knew.
Victor von Doom.
Even Renzo felt a chill at the thought.
In this universe, Doom had once become something terrifying.
God Emperor Doom.
The title alone felt like a mountain pressing down on every Marvel hero—a Sword of Damocles hanging over the world, ready to fall at any moment.
"I killed him."
Confusion flickered across Reed's eyes.
"We were brothers once. My closest friend."
In the end, they had fought to the death.
Renzo remained silent.
Whatever version of Doom had existed here, he had clearly been dangerous enough to force Reed into that choice.
"How about you?" Reed asked. "Your world. Your story."
He was genuinely curious. A creation as sophisticated as Renzo couldn't have appeared without a history behind him.
"Ultron."
Renzo looked at the robots flying through the laboratory.
"I was created by Ultron."
"Ultron?"
Reed stared at him in surprise.
In his world, Ultron had been built to strengthen Earth's defenses, easing the burden on superheroes and protecting civilians. His version had remained an artificial intelligence that controlled drones, not a fully evolved mechanical lifeform.
Renzo explained the differences between the two universes, how Ultron had come to be, and how he himself had been created.
He also told Reed about Tony Stark.
The brilliant, arrogant genius with the famous mustache.
"Wonderful! That's wonderful!"
Reed looked as delighted as a child.
"I'd love to meet him."
Different universe.
Different life.
Yet the same extraordinary intellect.
Even Ultron had been born from a similar idea—the desire to protect the world through machines.
Reed's eyes sparkled.
"I really want to meet him."
Scientists in this universe rarely challenged him intellectually. Many inventions that took others years of work only required Reed a few days—or sometimes just an afternoon once inspiration struck.
Finding someone who truly understood that way of thinking was rare.
In Reed's opinion, a kindred spirit could be harder to find than a lifelong partner.
Boom! Boom!
A sudden commotion echoed from outside the laboratory.
There were... animal noises?
Renzo frowned.
The sound seemed strangely familiar, like something he'd heard countless times in the countryside. The laboratory's soundproofing muffled it considerably, but his enhanced hearing caught it clearly.
"...Pigs?"
He looked at Reed in disbelief.
"You keep pigs at Baxter Base?"
"No." Reed looked equally puzzled. "We have plenty of frozen food stored here. Pork too, but it's all butchered, packaged, labeled, and sitting in the freezer."
There had never been any live livestock inside the base.
The two hurried outside.
The scene before them left both speechless.
Balder was desperately clinging to an enormous pig, wrapping both arms around its massive body as though his life depended on it.
The muddy beast charged wildly through the base, squealing at the top of its lungs while dragging the nearly six-foot-three Asgardian across the polished floor.
The assembled superheroes stood frozen in astonishment.
Several were shoved aside before they even understood what was happening.
The pig was unbelievably strong.
"Woooo!"
Clint Barton, still wrapped head to toe in bandages from Robbie's hellfire burns, had just been wheeled outside by Natasha for some fresh air.
His burns had spared his life but left terrible scars. He would probably be disfigured forever.
Fortunately, Clint had never cared much about appearances.
As an agent, blending into a crowd was often more useful than standing out.
Now he watched in horror as the enormous pig barreled toward him like a speeding truck.
If that thing hit him, he'd be lucky to escape with only a few broken bones.
Natasha rushed forward, trying to stop it with a kick to the head.
The pig barely noticed.
"Ooooo!"
Clint looked ready to cry.
You could move me instead!
There's no need to wrestle the pig!
Bzzz!
A golden beam struck the pig squarely.
The tremendous force slammed it into the wall.
Renzo maintained the blast, his brow furrowed.
Several seconds later, the giant pig collapsed unconscious.
Aside from a scorched patch across its belly, it was otherwise unharmed.
Renzo blinked in surprise.
He hadn't used much power, yet an ordinary pig would never have survived a blast like that.
This was no ordinary pig.
"Balder?"
Reed immediately recognized the filthy man sprawled across the floor.
Just an hour earlier, Balder had looked every bit the radiant God of Light.
Now he smelled worse than someone who had spent weeks living beneath an overpass.
His vacant eyes stared into space.
"Brother! What happened?"
Reed hurried over.
Balder had insisted on confronting Wanda despite everyone's objections. At the time, no one had worried too much. He had carried the Space Stone, and with Heimdall and the Bifrost available, escaping should never have been impossible.
No one had expected this.
Reed stared anxiously at the dazed Asgardian.
What had happened?
What kind of battle could reduce the God of Light to this state?
Even Dark Elves, Frost Giants, and Titans treated Balder with caution.
Yet now...
He looked completely broken.
"Vol...stagg..."
Balder slowly raised a trembling finger toward the unconscious pig.
Then he lost consciousness.
"Take them to the infirmary!" Reed ordered.
The silver-white walls opened as a dozen Ultron drones emerged to carry away both the man and the pig.
"Wait."
Renzo stepped forward.
"Have Wong examine them first."
A nauseating odor clung to both Balder and the pig.
It wasn't ordinary mud.
It smelled more like dried blood, decaying corpses, and stagnant swamp water left to rot before being dumped into a sewer.
It was revolting.
Especially Balder.
Renzo quietly took several steps backward.
Reed nodded immediately.
He changed the order.
There was a reason Balder and Volstagg had left together, yet returned as one god and one pig. Balder hadn't let go of the pig's ear for a second, and before passing out, he'd called it by Volstagg's name.
The conclusion was hard to ignore.
Volstagg had somehow been turned into a pig.
"Wanda's doing?" Reed wondered aloud.
He shook his head.
"Once the Space Stone is recovered from Balder, someone else will have to guard it. He's in no condition to continue."
Renzo nodded.
He intended to find Charles next.
With Cerebro, locating the surviving Inhumans would become much easier.
They had nowhere else to go.
If they didn't come here, surviving in the outside world would be nearly impossible.
Black Bolt genuinely wanted peaceful coexistence between humans and Inhumans. Though he naturally cared deeply for his own people, that didn't erase his desire for peace.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to protect your own.
Charles and Erik had often struggled with the same issue.
In some comic storylines, they had even established a homeland ruled by mutants.
Unfortunately...
Humans remained the dominant force in this world.
For races that looked human yet weren't fully accepted as such, the future was uncertain.
Gradually, the crowd dispersed.
People returned to the dome-shaped shelters scattered across the plaza.
Poor Clint, shaken half to death, had somehow fallen out of his wheelchair.
Natasha sighed, helped him back up, and pushed him toward the medical quarters.
Not everyone left.
Peter lay motionless on the ground, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling above.
The bright lights stung his eyes.
He didn't bother closing them.
He had nowhere to go.
Aunt May hadn't survived the red mist.
Peter pressed a hand against his chest.
Her face kept appearing before him.
Every memory felt like sharp claws tearing through his heart.
The pain only grew worse.
He had survived.
With Aunt May's final smile and tears burned into his memory, he'd wandered aimlessly through the ruined city until Susan found him and brought him to the others escaping together.
He felt like a stray dog that had wandered alone for countless days.
Then someone kind had taken it in.
Fed it.
Given it a warm place beside the fire where it could finally sleep without fear.
And one day...
The house caught fire.
The dog searched frantically for its owner.
It couldn't find them.
The flames roared higher, like monsters crawling from hell, stretching burning claws toward the helpless animal.
Someone shoved the dog outside.
It escaped.
The house collapsed behind it.
The little dog dug desperately through the smoking ruins, praying for a miracle.
But nothing remained.
Peter wanted to cry.
Instead, he forced himself not to.
He remembered Aunt May's final words.
"With great power comes great responsibility... Peter... I just hope you can live happily. Don't cry... okay? Don't cry..."
She hadn't wanted to become one of those twisted monsters.
She had chosen her own ending.
With a small fruit knife, she had taken her own life before the corruption could claim her.
Even in her final moments...
She had been comforting Spider-Man.
She had always been that kind of person.
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