A massive holographic projection rotated slowly in the center of the laboratory.
Countless complex formulas, dimensional coordinates, and quantum entanglement data flowed through the air like a waterfall.
Tony Stark's fingers flew across the virtual keyboard.
His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, his forehead slick with cold sweat—a sign of the weakness his body felt, having not yet fully adapted after his recent resurrection.
"This isn't right."
Tony stared at the Mobius strip model continuously taking shape on the screen and spoke in a raspy voice.
He didn't turn his head, as if he were merely muttering to himself.
But Reed Richards, standing beside him, knew the words were meant for him.
"You see it too, don't you, Rubber Man?"
Tony's fingers didn't stop, but his speech sped up slightly, carrying his trademark anxiety and sharp tongue.
"This model isn't just for navigation."
"It's using the quantum tunneling effect to forcibly lock onto high-dimensional coordinates."
"That pervert..."
Tony gritted his teeth, the image of Frieza's sickeningly polite smile flashing in his mind.
"He doesn't just want to go sightseeing in other universes."
"He wants to turn other universes into his colonies too."
Reed Richards, once the smartest man on Earth, was now hunched over like a senile old man.
He mechanically assisted Tony by inputting parameters, his voice flat and devoid of any fluctuation.
"That is obvious, Tony."
"He is the Emperor of the Universe."
"One universe cannot satisfy his appetite. It is only logical."
"Logical? Screw logic!"
Tony abruptly stopped his hands and whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes staring dead at Reed.
"We are helping a demon open the gates of Hell!"
"Once this device activates, countless parallel universes, countless Earths, will suffer the same fate as us!"
"Reed, you are Mr. Fantastic! Where is your brain? Did it get stretched out like your body?!"
Tony lowered his voice and leaned in close to Reed, his tone urgent and dangerous:
"I found a loophole in the core algorithm."
"If we just tweak the phase shift a little..."
"We can transport him to the center of a singularity in the anti-matter universe, or some dead dimension with no concept of time."
"Even if he is a god, he would be trapped there forever!"
"This is a chance! Our only chance!"
A flame called hope burned in Tony's eyes.
This was his last act of defiance as Iron Man, as an Avenger.
Even if he had died once.
He was determined to take a bite out of this demon!
However.
Faced with Tony's burning gaze, Reed Richards slowly stopped his work.
He looked up. In eyes that once shone with the light of wisdom, there was now only a dead, ash-gray silence.
"Tony."
Reed's voice was soft, as light as a sigh.
"Do you know?"
"The moment Washington was leveled, I ran the calculations."
"Our success rate for resistance is zero."
"Absolute zero."
Tony froze for a moment, then exploded with rage.
"So what? We should just kneel on the ground and be his dogs? Help him bite others?"
"Look outside! Look at what this world has become!"
"No."
Reed shook his head, a expression uglier than crying appearing on his slack face.
"Do you still not understand?"
"We aren't helping him."
"We are saving ourselves."
Reed reached out and manipulated the holographic screen.
He didn't modify the phase shift as Tony had suggested.
Instead...
He patched the tiny logical loophole Tony had intentionally left open.
"What are you doing?!"
Tony's pupils contracted violently. He reached out to snatch back control.
But Reed's arm instantly elongated like a python, tightly wrapping around Tony's wrist.
"I am saving you, Tony. And saving Sue, saving my children, saving the billions of people left on this planet."
Reed looked at Tony. There was no apology in his eyes, only a chilling rationality.
"Do you think he doesn't know?"
"Do you think that monster, who possesses six Infinity Stones and can blow up Galactus with one punch, wouldn't see through your little trick?"
"The Mind Stone reads thoughts. The Time Stone predicts the future. The Space Stone senses all dimensional fluctuations."
"In front of him, we are like goldfish in a transparent bowl."
"Any foolish thought of resistance will result in the bowl being smashed to pieces."
Reed released Tony's hand and continued typing rapidly on the keyboard, perfecting the final algorithm.
"I have already lost my dignity. I have lost my freedom."
"I cannot lose my family too."
"Tony, face reality."
"As long as we kneel fast enough, thorough enough... death won't catch up to us."
"You..."
Tony looked at his former comrade in disbelief.
The Mr. Fantastic who dedicated himself to exploring the unknown and protecting peace... was dead.
He had died in that abyss named Fear.
The thing standing here now was just a walking corpse, scared out of its wits.
"Well done, Reed."
Just then.
An elegant, crisp voice—one that made Tony's soul tremble—rang out from the laboratory entrance.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Accompanied by slow, rhythmic applause.
Frieza strolled in leisurely.
His crimson eyes were filled with mocking amusement.
"As expected of the smartest man on Earth."
"Although your spine is a bit soft, that brain works much better than a certain tin can who only knows how to play hero."
Frieza walked up to the two men.
He didn't even glance at the holographic screen, as if he couldn't care less about the nearly completed inter-universal device.
His gaze landed on Tony's pale face.
"My, my, Mr. Stark."
"For a moment there, your heartbeat accelerated quite a bit."
"Thinking of some naughty ideas?"
Frieza extended a finger and tapped it lightly against the newly repaired arc reactor on Tony's chest.
Clink!
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
"No... nothing..."
Tony wanted to step back, but he found his legs felt as heavy as lead.
It was a primal, biological fear.
It was the physiological rejection a person who had died once felt towards the source of their death.
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Frieza laughed, his body shaking with mirth.
"Don't be so nervous."
"This Emperor is very tolerant."
"As long as you can build this thing properly, I can forgive you even if you curse me a few times in your heart."
Frieza withdrew his hand and looked at Reed.
"How is the progress?"
"Rep... Reporting to the Great King."
Reed immediately bowed low, his posture humble to the dust.
"The core algorithm has been corrected. The quantum channel stability rate has reached 99.9%."
"It only needs one final charge..."
"And the device known as the 'Multiverse Shuttle Gate' can be activated."
"Very good."
Frieza nodded with satisfaction.
He waved his hand casually.
The six Infinity Stones floated out from his body, circling around him, emitting terrifying fluctuations that distorted the very space.
"Then charge it."
"Use my energy."
BOOM————!!!
Six colors of light instantly injected into the massive ring-shaped device in the center of the lab.
Hummm-mmm-mmm!
The machine began to operate frantically. The piercing whine of energy resonated through the entire building.
Space began to tear.
A vortex filled with colors of the unknown slowly took shape in the center of the ring.
Through that vortex...
One could almost see countless bizarre and motley worlds flickering in alternation.
Some worlds burned with eternal fire, some were wastelands, others were forests of skyscrapers...
The door to the Multiverse.
Was open!
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Frieza looked at the vortex, the greed in his eyes nearly spilling over.
"What a mesmerizing view."
"So many unknown planets. So many unknown strong fighters."
"And..."
"So much Fear waiting to be harvested!"
Frieza spread his arms, as if to embrace these infinite possibilities.
"Tony Stark."
Frieza suddenly turned his head to look at Iron Man, who had collapsed into a chair, looking utterly despairing.
"Look."
"This is your masterpiece."
"You personally opened the back door to new colonies for this Emperor."
"You should feel proud."
"After all..."
A cruel smile curled on Frieza's lips.
"This is a great achievement that even Thanos never accomplished."