"Seize the Infinity Stones before Thanos does?"
The audacity of the plan hung in the air. For a moment, it seemed brilliant. But it was T'Challa, his brow furrowed in deep, strategic thought, who voiced the first and most obvious concern.
"We attracted Thanos's wrath with only one stone in our possession," he said, his regal voice calm and measured. "If we purposefully gather all of them here, on Earth, are we not simply painting a larger, more irresistible target on our own backs? We risk doing Thanos's work for him."
He worried they would painstakingly collect the universe's ultimate power, only to serve it to their greatest enemy on a silver platter.
Clint Barton leaned back in his chair, a wry, cynical smirk on his face. "Look, we were a target when we didn't have the stones, and we're a target now that we do. The way I see it, if you're going to be on a hit list, you might as well be on it holding the biggest gun you can find."
Ben nodded, acknowledging the archer's grim pragmatism. "Agent Barton is right," he affirmed. "The Infinity Stones possess power beyond comprehension; otherwise, Thanos wouldn't be going to such lengths to acquire them." He saw the lingering uncertainty in their eyes. "I know you might not fully grasp what we're dealing with. Eunice."
At his command, Ben slid the sleek Plumber's badge from his wrist onto the center of the conference table. It glowed softly for a second before a beam of light shot upwards, exploding into a breathtaking holographic display. A miniature cosmos bloomed in the center of the room, swirling with nebulae and infant galaxies.
"To understand what we're fighting for," Ben began, his voice taking on the tone of a lecturer, "you need to understand how it all began."
As he spoke, the hologram shifted, taking them back to the dawn of time.
"Before the Big Bang, there was nothing. And then… there was everything. The universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of six primordial singularities, each containing infinite energy, were forged and condensed into what we know as the Infinity Stones."
The holographic universe replayed the cataclysmic explosion. Six points of light—red, blue, purple, yellow, green, and orange—blazed into being and shot off in different directions, embedding themselves in the fabric of the new reality.
"Time, Space, Mind, Power, Reality, and Soul," Ben listed them off, his finger tracing their paths through the projection. "Possess even one, and you can command its fundamental aspect of the universe. Possess them all… and you become a god."
To demonstrate, Ben's hand passed through the hologram. To the astonishment of everyone present, the illusory stones coalesced around his palm, forming a glowing, interlocking loop like a Möbius strip. Energy flowed between them, each gem empowering the next in an infinite circuit.
"Because of their limitless power, they have been sought, wielded, and fought over by countless races since the beginning of time," Ben continued. "The Space Stone, which you knew as the Tesseract, was stored here on Earth by the Asgardians, where it remained hidden until HYDRA unearthed it."
"If the stones are so powerful, why didn't the Asgardians use it themselves?" Natasha asked, puzzled. "Why just leave it here?"
All eyes turned to Ben. His close relationship with Loki was no secret, and they assumed he had inside knowledge.
"Because at the peak of their power, they didn't need to," Ben explained. "Thousands of years ago, Asgard was a conquering empire led by Odin and his firstborn daughter, Hela. They were a more formidable force than Thanos could ever dream of being. Their Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, could transport their armies to any corner of the Nine Realms. The Space Stone, while precious, was functionally redundant to them."
He paused, letting that sink in. "Later, I believe Odin foresaw the disasters the stones would bring. He scattered them, hiding the Tesseract on Earth—a realm they called Midgard, the Atrium of the Nine Realms. To the rest of the cosmos, this place was as remote and insignificant as…" He searched for a suitable analogy. "…as Delaware."
The native-born Americans in the room blinked, a slow wave of comprehension dawning on their faces.
"He's not wrong," Steve muttered, rubbing his forehead. "That's pretty remote."
It was less about being remote and more about having no cosmic presence whatsoever. Before Tony Stark and the Battle of New York, Earth was just another backwater planet in an uncharted corner of the galaxy.
With the history lesson complete, the weight of their task became terrifyingly clear.
"So, what we must do is find the remaining four stones and bring them here," T'Challa concluded, his initial apprehension now replaced with determined resolve. "With their power, we can face any threat."
But Ben shook his head.
"Is there a problem with that logic?" the king asked.
"Two problems," Ben corrected. "First, we don't have to find all of them." He elaborated, "We currently possess the Space Stone and the Mind Stone. But the Time Stone is also here on Earth, protected by another guardian. In her hands, the stone is perfectly safe."
Ben didn't need to say her name. The sheer confidence in his voice was enough. Even if Thanos had ten times the courage, he would never dare to challenge the Ancient One for the Time Stone. Not unless she chose to give it to him.
"This means we only need to contend with Thanos for three stones: Power, Soul, and Reality." Ben held up three fingers. In his mind, however, the number was only two. He had no intention of touching the Soul Stone. That gem had developed a consciousness, a dark sentience of its own. To claim it, one had to make the ultimate sacrifice on the cliffs of Vormir: the soul of the one they loved most.
On the final scale, only souls weigh the same.
Of course, just because he wouldn't seek it didn't mean Thanos wouldn't. The Mad Titan obtaining the Soul Stone was a terrifying prospect. The power of the Infinity Gauntlet wasn't just about the number of stones. Ben had seen timelines—possibilities—where a six-stoned Thanos was instantly atomized by an Ultron wielding only the Mind Stone. Power was about synergy and will.
Still, avoiding the sacrifice was the most logical path. Besides, at this point, Thanos didn't even know the Soul Stone's location. Only Gamora knew its dark secret, and the chances of her revealing it to her tyrant father were slim to none.
That left two primary targets: the Power Stone and the Reality Stone. The Reality Stone, also known as the Aether, had been sealed away by Asgard centuries ago. But Ben knew the stones resonated with each other. With two already active on Earth, the Aether would soon awaken from its slumber.
He kept these finer details to himself. "The second problem," he said, his tone turning grave, "is that even if we had all six stones, wielding them is another matter entirely. Their power is absolute. An ordinary being would be instantly turned to ash just by touching one."
He let his gaze drift over each of them. "And don't fool yourselves. In this context, all of you are ordinary."
"We are not ordinary men," T'Challa countered, a flash of indignation in his eyes.
"To the Stones, you are," Ben stated flatly. He wasn't looking down on them; he was stating a cosmic fact. Before that level of fundamental power, they were all fragile mortals.
"Alright," Steve interjected, ending the potentially tense topic. "Let's talk about how we find them. Where do we start?"
"Our first target is the Power Stone," Ben announced, providing the first piece of solid intelligence. He snapped his fingers. The grand cosmic display vanished, replaced by two rotating objects: a glowing purple gem and a gray, metallic sphere covered in intricate patterns—the Orb.
"The Power Stone, currently housed within the Orb, is the most widely circulated of the six. Its legends are known across the galaxy, and many have clues to its whereabouts. It is also, undoubtedly, Thanos's next target."
"Then we have to move quickly," Steve urged.
"Don't worry. The Plumbers have already put out a high-value commission for its retrieval across our intelligence networks," Ben assured them. "But the universe is a big place, filled with untrustworthy people. To prevent any… accidents, I'm forming a second team to go after it ourselves."
The universe was filled with mercenaries who would do anything for the right price. Men like Yondu Udonta and his Ravagers. And then there were the so-called "famous" thieves no one had ever actually heard of. Specifically, a self-proclaimed "Star-Lord."
Peter Quill. A man with the body of a god and the mind of a mortal, a true father-killer who managed to derail an entire universal victory with a single, moronic tantrum. It was hard to describe him with any word other than… stupid. Ben was legitimately concerned that the Plumber commission would fall into Quill's bumbling hands. The backup team wasn't just a good idea; it was a necessity.
No one objected. The only question was who would go.
"I'm out," Barton said immediately, raising a hand. Natasha nodded in agreement. They were elite agents, but they were still human. Even with the serum, they were no match for the cosmic horrors they might face.
"I will go," T'Challa said without hesitation. To him, the fate of the world was inextricably linked to the fate of Wakanda.
"Count me in," Steve added, his resolve unshakable. He looked at Ben. "What about you? What's your role in this?"
"I'm leading the mission, of course," Ben said, as if it were obvious. When Infinity Stones were in play, he wasn't about to leave things to chance. One slip-up, one miscalculation, and the Power Stone could end up in Thanos's Gauntlet. That was not an acceptable outcome.
Apart from the three of them, the roster was open. Ben believed in a volunteer-only basis. Too many people could be a liability, a drain on resources and a hindrance to a small, agile team.
"So, meeting adjourned?" Natasha asked tentatively.
"Adjourned? I'm not finished," Ben shot back, rolling his eyes. "Getting the stone is just the first step. Don't forget the ultimate goal." He waved his hand, and the hologram of the Orb was replaced by an intricate network displaying Thanos's known forces.
"We want to destroy Thanos himself," Ben declared. "He is immensely powerful. The Chitauri are just cannon fodder, endlessly produced by his war machine. His true strength lies in his personal guard, the Black Order…"
He began to break down Thanos's command structure, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each of his generals. Finally, the image settled on two figures: one with blue skin and cybernetics, the other with green skin and the haunted eyes of a killer.
"In addition to the Black Order, Thanos has his 'children.' His prized assassins…"
The scene in the conference room seemed to melt away, the hologram shifting, or perhaps their perspective was pulled across the galaxy to a throne of jagged black stone. There, a colossal figure leaned forward, his armored form casting a long, dark shadow. He looked down at the two daughters who had just been brought before him.
"Nebula… and Gamora."
"…So, you have returned." Thanos's voice was a low, rumbling growl that echoed in the cavernous throne room.
One daughter, Gamora, stood defiant. The other, Nebula, was bound tightly in restraints, curled like a broken toy on the cold stone floor, her cybernetic eyes filled with pure, unadulterated terror.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more early access chapter of this fanfic or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~