"Dr. Selvig, I only want to rule the universe."
Mario's voice echoed through the cramped underground chamber. The torchlight gave him the appearance of a movie villain rehearsing his monologue. The slight smirk on his lips completed the effect.
"I need you to help me open a portal so I can summon my army and conquer this world. Anyone who refuses to kneel will be crushed beneath my forces."
He stood and leaned closer to Selvig. "Open the portal for me, and you'll be a founding member of my empire. I'll even let you govern the entire solar system—"
Selvig stared at him with an expression that clearly screamed: Are you fucking kidding me?
He studied Mario carefully, just an ordinary young man with Italian features, nothing particularly special except for the unusual brightness in his eyes.
There were so many absurd elements in Mario's speech that he didn't even know where to begin his objections.
Kaecilius looked uncomfortable. He suspected that Mario, finding himself in a universe where nobody knew him, had decided to completely let loose and embrace his theatrical side.
"Ahem. Maybe we should focus on getting home?"
Mario froze mid-performance, then broke into a grin. "Ah, fine. I was just bored."
"The moment we start using the Tesseract, both the Chitauri and S.H.I.E.L.D. are going to zero in on our location. Figured I'd get some entertainment in before the big fight."
He hadn't forgotten that in the original timeline, even after S.H.I.E.L.D. cut the Tesseract's power, Loki had still managed to come through the portal.
He figured the Chitauri could probably pull off the same trick, they just might not be able to send massive numbers through at once.
"Alright, Dr. Selvig, let's be real with each other. What I actually need is for you to help me open a portal to another universe. We just want to go home."
Selvig shook his head immediately. "That's impossible. Even with my knowledge and an object like the Tesseract, creating a portal that crosses between parallel universes is beyond current science."
Mario sighed. "Nothing's impossible. You're the one who sent me here in the first place."
Selvig blinked.
Just how much did I hate you in your original universe to send you to a different one?
"Kaecilius, show him what happened."
Kaecilius nodded and placed his hand against his temple. Several glowing magic circles appeared around his wrist as he drew out a wisp of white, cotton-like mist from his mind.
Seeing the familiar sight, Mario couldn't help himself. "And you still say this isn't like Harry Potter? Do you guys have a Pensieve too?"
Kaecilius tossed the white mist into the air, where it began expanding rapidly under the influence of magic. "Pensieve?"
Mario studied his expression. "Never mind. It's just a memory-viewing tool from another story. Forget I mentioned it."
But when I get time, I'm definitely checking if Diagon Alley exists in this universe.
The surroundings transformed. The cramped space opened into a vast area filled with abandoned ships parked in the distance. He recognized it immediately, this was his African base.
"I didn't know you could do this..."
He'd only asked for a simple illusion spell, not a full memory projection.
When Selvig finally processed what he was seeing, especially the figure working calmly at a machine, his eyes widened in shock.
"That's... that's me from a parallel universe?"
His alternate self looked relaxed and engaged with his work, nothing like the reluctant consultant that S.H.I.E.L.D. had pressured into service. It made sense. S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted him to weaponize the Tesseract. Mario just wanted to simply travel, bringing Selvig along to see other worlds.
The scene progressed rapidly, showing the moment Mario stepped into the portal. The gateway became violently unstable, and he finally understood why Kaecilius had been pulled along for the ride.
When the projection ended, the surroundings dissolved into countless tiny lights.
He looked puzzled. "Aren't you going to put that memory back?"
"This wasn't a memory, just a spell reconstruction."
"Oh." Mario pretended to understand. "Anyway, Dr. Selvig, what do you think?"
Still processing what he'd witnessed, Selvig nodded slowly. "I can help you. But I can't guarantee success. That portal you went through was clearly malfunctioning. You shouldn't have used it."
Mario glanced helplessly at Kaecilius, then changed the subject. "What's done is done. No point dwelling on it now. Dr. Selvig, the portal work is yours. If you need extra hands, let me know and I'll find you help."
Building the portal and its supporting equipment wasn't something Selvig could handle alone, but Loki's setup in the sewers had been thorough. Not much else was needed.
"Kaecilius, this place isn't secure. If aliens actually show up, we won't have room to fight properly."
---
Two days later, over the Atlantic Ocean, aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Banner suddenly straightened from his computer workstation. "We've found the Tesseract!"
Tony immediately stepped over, glancing at the data streaming across the screen. "Where?"
"Russia. Siberia."
When Fury received the report, he rushed to the control room. One look at Banner's computer confirmed it.
"Good work." He turned to address the assembled team. "Gather everyone. We're heading to Siberia to reclaim the Tesseract."
"This is our last chance, and my only one."
He wasn't wrong. Mario and Kaecilius could teleport freely through portals. Without the Tesseract's energy signature to track, finding them was nearly impossible.
Over the past few days, Mario sightings had poured in from across the globe. One report placed him dining in Washington, but before Fury's team arrived, he'd already moved to Hawaii. By the time they reached Hawaii, Mario had been spotted in Paris. The only real opportunity to intercept him was when he activated the Tesseract.
---
Siberia.
This was Mario's second time on this frozen wasteland. On his last visit, the icy wind had felt cold enough to rip a person's soul out of their body. But this time, Siberia was entering its brief warm season.
The temperature was still chilly, but it didn't stop him from standing outside in short sleeves, watching Selvig fine-tune the wormhole generator.
He flicked the cigarette in his hand.
Something felt wrong.
"Kaecilius, you might not be able to go back."
"Why?"
"I don't know, just a feeling. I think the Tesseract doesn't actually have the power to open cross-universal portals. What happened before was a freak accident, somehow the energy from our universe's Tesseract mixed with this universe's Tesseract, and that's what sent us here."
Kaecilius calmly observed Selvig's work. "I notice you said I might not be able to go back, not we."
Mario took a drag from his cigarette and smiled. "Because I can go back anytime I want."
Kaecilius said nothing.
In the end, Mario had revealed the truth. Now came the moment to see if his gambit would pay off.
"The Tesseract is going out of control!" Selvig shouted. Things were developing exactly in the direction Mario had most feared.
"Its energy's becoming extremely active, it's opening a portal on its own!"
Mario stared at the Tesseract. He pulled Kaecilius' battle armor from his inventory. "Get ready for a fight."
"Dr. Selvig, don't cut the power this time. Keep heating the Tesseract. If we can't solve the problem, we'll solve whoever's causing it."
From his inventory, he produced soul sand he'd been saving for months. He arranged it carefully on the ground, creating the pattern he needed.
He handed Kaecilius several healing potions. "The Wither effect isn't something regular people can handle. I'm about to summon some creatures. Once the portal opens, get Dr. Selvig out of here immediately. And listen carefully, if one of these things locks onto you, open a portal and get the hell out. Come back from a distance. They're the enemy of all living things."
Now fully armored, Kaecilius nodded and took the potions. He flew to Selvig's position, ready to evacuate the scientist at a moment's notice.
Hummmmm...
The air rippled as the Tesseract shot out a beam of brilliant blue light. A massive portal tore open on the ground about fifty meters from Mario's position.
Through the gateway, he could see the densely packed Chitauri army waiting on the other side. Compared to the movie version, there were far more of them. An absolutely absurd number.
But that made sense. If they had the capability to wage interstellar war, the Chitauri wouldn't be limited to the handful shown in the movies.
"Time to show these bastards a greeting."
Mario moved quickly, placing Wither skeleton skulls atop the soul sand. One after another, Withers materialized.
During the ten-second spawning period, the Withers' health gradually increased and their size expanded. They couldn't take damage during this time, but they also couldn't move or attack.
And in those ten seconds, the portal fully stabilized.
The lead Chitauri soldiers let out silent battle cries, piloting small flying craft and brandishing energy weapons as they surged through the portal toward Earth.
Then the explosions started.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The detonations echoed across the landscape like fireworks celebrating the Chitauri's arrival. But the sound of those blasts, combined with the terrifying voice that suddenly echoed inside everyone's minds, announced something far worse.
The enemies of all living beings had awakened.
The sky darkened under the Withers' influence.
Countless Wither skulls erupted from the floating boss monsters, screaming toward the nearest Chitauri soldiers at incredible speeds. Chitauri soldiers and their vehicles exploded. The number of Withers continued to multiply as Mario kept spawning them.
Having completed his work, he retreated to a safe distance. The Withers didn't care who had summoned them, to these creatures, all living things were enemies.
From his vantage point, he watched the fierce battle unfold. The Chitauri weren't pushovers. Their energy rifles fired concentrated beams that struck the Withers, and they had numbers on their side.
The leading Withers' health bars dropped below 50% almost instantly. But then white armor materialized around the damaged Withers, deflecting the Chitauri energy blasts.
"What the hell? Are they immune now?"
Mario couldn't believe what he was seeing. In Minecraft, when a Wither's health dropped below half, it gained the Wither Armor effect, which made it immune to arrows and tridents. But there were no energy weapons in the game. He hadn't realized the Wither Armor would also nullify ranged energy attacks.
The battle at the portal shifted. The Chitauri's sustained barrage triggered the Withers' passive ability. The ones whose health had fallen below half went absolutely berserk, launching a storm of Wither skulls at an incredible rate.
When a Wither takes damage, it retaliates by firing skulls. The rate depends on how frequently it's hit, not how much damage it takes. The Chitauri's sustained fire had triggered a counterattack.
"Mamma Mia... Withers are this insane against crowds? Guess next time I fight one, I'd better do it solo…"
From a distance, Mario marveled at the power of the Withers.
Kaecilius, having safely teleported Selvig away, returned through a portal and materialized beside hiim.
"Hold on," Mario said. "I don't think we'll even need to do anything."
After all that fighting, the Chitauri still hadn't managed to breach the portal. Instead, three or four Withers had already flown through to the other side, and more were following. The Withers didn't have much health; if their enemies had Asgardian-level melee power or heavy explosives, fighting them would be much easier. But the Chitauri suffered from one fatal disadvantage: a lack of information.
Having relied solely on energy weapons for so long, they had long abandoned traditional explosives. And since they couldn't see the Withers' health bars, they mistakenly believed their weapons simply weren't strong enough, never realizing they were doing no damage at all.
"The S.H.I.E.L.D. superheroes are here," Kaecilius said.
Mario looked up to see a Quinjet hovering in the sky above the battlefield.
"Let's hope they don't jump down right now. If the Withers target them—"
"Ah, shit."
Before he could finish the sentence, several figures leaped from the aircraft. Leading the charge was Thor, followed closely by Iron Man and Loki.
Mario could only watch helplessly as two Withers that had been lingering at the back of the battle suddenly turned their attention toward the new arrivals and launched their attacks.
"Why do heroes always have to make dramatic entrances?"