Captain America didn't know about the Small World. In the past few days, he and his close companions had made their farewells properly. When it came time to part ways, on the first floor of Avengers Tower, Malrick and Tony stood among the assembled group.
Old Captain America stood opposite them, the young Captain and Carter supporting each other, both looking teary.
"Goodbye, everyone," Old Captain said gently. "I must return to the world that still needs me, to fulfill my unfinished responsibilities."
He held a shield wrapped in a black cloth, then quietly bid farewell. Finally he waved to the young Captain and Carter. "Don't miss me. Maybe one day we'll meet again."
He appeared calm. With a press of the device on his wrist, nanites spread out, forming a sleek grey-white suit around his body. Within moments, he stepped into a quantum tunnel and vanished before their eyes.
Everyone stood motionless, staring at the empty space. A quiet sadness filled the room — that familiar ache that comes with farewells. And this time, it might truly be the last time they ever saw him.
The young Captain held Carter close. Everyone else quietly left, giving them space. Only Howard and his wife remained behind. Though a friend from a parallel world had just gone, the four longtime comrades — separated for decades — had much to discuss.
Malrick and Tony, both dressed in black, strolled toward the top floor of the Tower, hands in their pockets.
"Do you think Old Captain will hand over his shield to Falcon when he returns?" Tony asked casually.
"I don't think so," Malrick replied.
"He's seen Universe collisions. He knows his home world will face more crises. He probably can't stay idle."
Tony nodded, agreement clear. "I think you're right. Rare for me to be on the same wavelength as you."
Malrick shook his head and smirked. "Cut it out. You've borrowed a lot of power these past few days. Are you secretly studying again with your Super Brain spell?"
Tony's face stiffened for a moment — clearly caught. But he didn't deny it.
"You brat," he teased, "are you keeping tabs on who borrows your power every day, ready to collect debts?"
"Of course," Malrick said plainly. "The loan-shark business has begun; I have to stay alert."
"So you're still researching your Anti-Superman Armor?"
"Not anti-Superman — Hell Iron Man Armor," Tony corrected, a proud smile growing.
Malrick raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
Tony laughed softly. "Since no one helps me like Superman helps Batman, I'll do it myself."
He looked serious, even a little dramatic. "I'll go to the Sun's core to forge my materials. I'll dive to the sea floor for extreme environment tempering. I'll enchant the armor myself."
Malrick rolled his eyes inwardly. Tony was essentially copying something like the Hellbat Armor from the comics.
Tony turned back with a grin: "This time, my armor will surpass Batman's completely. Once I integrate x-kryptonite technology from the Anti-Superman Armor, the day you fall to my hand won't be far off."
Malrick nodded slowly, resigned. "Good luck... I'll be waiting."
He thought for a moment. There was the corpse of Arishem the Judge — its most important genetic material already absorbed by the Black Light Clone. The residual body and materials weren't much use. He'd planned to give them to Tony to build a Celestial-level armor. But with Tony's new confidence and vision, maybe it was better to wait.
Tony leaned in casually. "What do you mean, good luck? Feeling threatened, Malrick?"
Malrick smirked. "Yes, yes, a little scared now... huh?"
He paused, frozen mid-stride.
In a parallel world, someone had met Malrick's standard of justice. They had become the human form of one of his m-bodies.
"Who is it...?" Malrick thought as he controlled that m-body and descended to observe. It was someone he semi-knew.
"Interesting. After helping him finish the crisis, I'll grant part of the power to him."
His consciousness was controlling millions of m-bodies across universes — but most existed as abstract watchers. This was the first time he encountered one that needed real action.
He smirked to himself. "Let's go. I'll visit your office later. I want to see what the Director of the Avengers does all day."
While his mind operated in that parallel world, his main body headed to Tony's office for coffee.
---
Elsewhere. In a zombie-infested universe of the MCU Multiverse, one of Malrick's Rejedo m-bodies was permanently stationed. Today, it felt a sudden call from Earth.
Its awareness projected across interstellar space, focusing on a Quinjet over Wakanda, Africa. Inside: Little Spider (Peter Parker), a wounded Black Panther (T'Challa, missing a leg), and a severely injured Ant-Man Scott — reduced to just a head.
They were screaming, dodging attacks from zombies flooding the ground. These were intelligent zombies using Wakanda's advanced tech. Among them stood a five-gem powered being, a twisted mirror of Thanos.
From below, zombies moved like an ant colony. Above, the purple giant looming over them.
Little Spider panicked: "Oh my god! Didn't we agree Wakanda was our final refuge? Who is that massive purple guy?"
T'Challa gripped the controls, sweat streaming, eyes hollow and sleepless.
"What happened to Wakanda? Why did it fall?" he shouted.
Scott's detached head started babbling: "Check out that purple sweet potato! He's staring at us! Tall like Darkseid from DC!"
The purple giant raised a hand. Scott screamed. "Is he going to fire Omega Beams?"
Then the giant threw an entire house at them. Scott stared with horror.
"Dive! Dive now!" Scott screamed.
T'Challa maneuvered the Quinjet to dodge. But below, dense energy beams rained down. The jet's shields were failing. There was no way to outrun this. The zombies had opened, then closed Wakanda's barrier — trapping them inside.
"Do these zombies even understand strategy?" T'Challa gritted his teeth.
Peter — terrified but determined — looked at T'Challa.
"We can't just run. If we can't save Earth, what's the point of surviving?"
He pointed toward the palace. "We have to reach the lab. Even if we die, we must try to save Earth!"
T'Challa hesitated: "We can't get through!"
"I'll go distract them," Peter shouted, swinging open the hatch and launching himself toward the swarm below. "You two head for the lab!"
"Peter, wait!" T'Challa yelled — but Spider-Man was already gone into the chaos below.
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Milestones
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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