On the void throne of Sanctuary II, Thanos leaned forward, a titan casting a shadow over his two daughters. He had been separated from them for a long time. Gamora had been dispatched on a quest to find the other Infinity Stones, while Nebula, unable to bear his particular brand of paternal torture, had deserted him long ago.
Once, Thanos hadn't cared about Nebula's departure. She was Gamora's contemporary, yet she fell short in every conceivable metric. Each time Nebula lost a sparring match to her sister—which was every time—Thanos would "improve" her, replacing yet another piece of her organic body with cold machinery. Today, she was more machine than woman, and still, she was no match for Gamora.
He had been deeply disappointed in her. When she finally fled, he felt nothing. It was like a man with a room full of pristine, beautiful toys misplacing a single, patched-up doll. It was of no consequence.
But the recent defeat in his war against Earth had changed things. He was short on capable commanders to lead the Black Order and the Chitauri horde. Gamora could fill that role, but he needed more.
"My daughter," Thanos's voice rumbled, though his gaze was fixed on the trembling form of Nebula. "I hear you have grown close to Ronan of the Kree."
He descended from his throne, his massive form eclipsing the dim light of the cosmos outside. He knelt before Nebula, his presence a living nightmare that made her shrink and tremble. As a father, Thanos felt a twinge of something akin to sadness that his daughter's first reaction upon seeing him was terror, not joy. He admitted to himself that he had favored Gamora, but the modifications he'd made to Nebula were for her own good. He was making her stronger. It was Nebula who was the disappointment, forever unable to catch up to her sister.
But none of that mattered now. Thanos no longer needed a well-behaved daughter; he needed an army, and an army needed a general. Ronan the Accuser would make a fine attack dog.
However, the Kree were one of the three great empires of the universe, and Ronan was the supreme commander of their military. Even Thanos couldn't simply force a man like that to kneel. It wasn't a matter of strength; Ronan was not the type to bow to power alone.
Nebula knew this. Suppressing the icy fear that threatened to paralyze her, she began to explain the political complexities.
"Do not trouble yourself with it," Thanos said calmly, cutting her off. If Ronan were the kind of man who would kneel at the first show of force, Thanos would have no use for him anyway. "I am aware that Ronan's parents were killed by the Nova Corps of Xandar. He has always craved revenge, but the Kree Empire forbids him from acting on it."
Thanos stood, turning his immense presence toward his other daughter. "Gamora. Have you found any information regarding the Infinity Stones?"
The question, so suddenly directed at her, jolted Gamora from her reverie. Fear, cold and sharp, lanced through her. She froze for a second before quickly composing herself, bowing her head. "I have not, Father."
"I am very disappointed in you," Thanos said, and the disappointment on his face was genuine. But it wasn't because of her failure. It was because she was lying. He could see it in the subtle tension of her jaw, the flicker in her eyes. However, he needed her now. The accounting for her deception could wait. It would not be too late to address it after she had retrieved the Power Stone for him.
"I have learned the whereabouts of the Power Stone through other means," he stated. "It is currently contained within an artifact called the Orb. Find it, in the ruins of the planet Morag, and bring it to me."
Then, his gaze shifted back to Nebula. His voice was flat, leaving no room for refusal. "Tell Ronan the Accuser this: if he is willing to fight for me, the Black Order will deliver the planet Xandar to him on a platter of ash."
Earth. Primus Tower.
After leaving the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Ben returned immediately to Primus. The operation to collect the stones couldn't just involve the Avengers; the Plumbers had to field their own team. On his way back, he sent out a notification for an all-hands meeting in the basement conference room.
When he arrived, Harry was already there, his Neo Green Goblin helmet sitting on the table. Connors, Otto, and Banner had also paused their research to attend.
"Where's Peter and our four newest recruits?" Ben asked.
Harry leaned back in his chair, a smirk of pure schadenfreude spreading across his face. "Peter got drafted. Uncle Ben and Aunt May are making him tutor the two newcomers."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
Harry gleefully recounted the events of the afternoon. As fellow recruits, Ben Sr. and May had quickly bonded with Wanda and Pietro. During their conversation, it came out that the Maximoff twins were, for all practical purposes, illiterate. After some gentle prodding, the Parkers discovered that the nineteen-year-old twins hadn't even finished middle school.
This, the Parkers could not abide. As the proud guardians of two certified geniuses, they held a deep reverence for education. Wanda and Pietro had to go back to school. The twins, who had never had a real childhood, were hesitant, but the Parkers were insistent. They couldn't be crowded into a classroom with teenagers, so they would be tutored here. They didn't need doctorates, but they couldn't be uneducated.
Ben Sr. and May, despite their own limited schooling, were products of a different time when opportunities were scarce. They were intelligent, and they were determined to give these kids the chances they never had. They even began supplementing their own knowledge alongside them. Which meant they all needed a teacher.
Primus had three of the world's leading scientists on staff, but it seemed a waste to pull them from their vital work. So, Ben Sr. thought of the next best thing: Peter, a high school student with outstanding academic achievements.
"I think it's a wonderful development," Otto chimed in happily. "After the serum injections, your dad and mom's cognitive functions will be significantly enhanced. The two young ones are also exceptionally bright. Learning more will only benefit them, even in combat."
Banner nodded in agreement. "Between the three of us, we have ten doctoral degrees. Having two people with elementary school educations in the building was starting to drag down our average." He paused. "I've always felt this tower only had room for one idiot, and that's the Hulk."
"Alright, we'll wait for them," Ben said with a sigh.
A short while later, Peter trudged in, a thundercloud on his face. He deliberately walked ahead of the others, trying to hide his foul mood from his aunt and uncle. His frown only relaxed when he saw Ben.
"What's wrong?" Ben asked quietly as Peter slumped into a chair.
"No, it's nothing…" Peter said, glancing back toward the hallway with a flash of irritation before lowering his voice. "It's Wanda and Pietro. It's an easy concept, a really easy concept, but I had to explain it a dozen times and they still don't get it. They're so…huh!"
The words tumbled out in a rush of frustration. He had finally found someone to vent to, but as soon as he spoke, he deflated, his face awash with guilt.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, dropping his head. "I shouldn't have said that. They're not like us, they never had the chance to study… I don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel so… angry all the time."
He let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to physically suppress the unfamiliar emotions roiling inside him.
Ben knew exactly what was wrong. It was the Venom symbiote. This version wasn't the pure villain from the movies; it was closer to the anti-hero from Lethal Protector, but it was still Venom. Having once bonded with Deadpool, its personality was a chaotic mess of flaws: bloodthirsty, violent, arrogant, irritable, and with a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush.
"Don't worry about it," Ben said, patting his cousin's shoulder reassuringly. "You're probably just going through puberty."
He was well aware of Peter's change, but for now, he needed him. The heroic nature of Spider-Man was the only thing balancing the symbiote's darker impulses.
Soon, Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and the twins arrived and took their seats.
"Peter, why did you walk off so fast?" May inquired, a concerned look on her face. "I was hoping you could be friends with Pietro and Wanda."
"It's nothing, I was just… worried we were running late," Peter prevaricated.
Ben cut in before his aunt could press the issue further, officially calling the meeting to order. Although May was his elder, here, in this room, they were all Plumbers.
He laid out the entire plan.
As soon as he finished, Pietro shot his hand into the air, practically vibrating with excitement. "I'm in! I'll join!" Young men like him craved adventure, and the universe felt like a stage just big enough for his ambitions.
Wanda wanted to go, too, but she hesitated, a familiar fear clutching at her. She worried she wouldn't be valuable enough, that she'd fail and be cast out, abandoned by Ben and forced to return to the miserable quagmire of her old life.
Ben looked at them both and shook his head, his rejection mercifully blunt. "No. You're too weak."
Pietro crossed his arms, his face a mask of dissatisfaction. "I'm plenty fast. I'm at least a little better than this guy," he said, pointing an accusatory thumb at Harry.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to be offensive?" While Pietro had caught him off guard in a spar with his near-supersonic speed, it didn't mean Harry couldn't beat him. The Neo Green Goblin armor was packed with enough tech to neutralize a speedster ten times over.
"Maybe," Ben said, cutting off their squabble. "But recruits have to earn their stripes before seeing a real fight." In Ben's assessment, Pietro was a world away from Peter and Harry. He had zero experience fighting aliens or dealing with cosmic-level threats. This mission to secure an Infinity Stone would be incredibly dangerous, with a high probability of encountering Thanos himself. He was responsible for their lives, and he wouldn't risk them on a fool's errand.