Chapter 469: You Snap the Fingers
Silas had actually managed to break through the cosmic barrier and return to the Marvel Universe using raw speed!
As for how he confirmed it was the Marvel Universe—before he had even fully stepped out of the tunnel, he saw through the rift the figures of the Red Skull, Natasha, and Clint.
"Wait, you two!" Silas realized instantly what Natasha and Clint were about to do. Just as he tried to rush out and stop them, he felt his speed plummeting.
The cosmic barrier had sensed an intruder. Its natural defense mechanism began to repel him, causing Silas, who had already exceeded the speed of light, to slow down. As he slowed, he was met with a massive repulsive force. Much like the principle of two identical magnetic poles repelling each other, the force with which he arrived was the force with which he was thrown back.
Poor Silas had barely set one foot into the Marvel Universe before he was violently hurled back. The hole in the spatial barrier healed instantly behind him.
"I think I heard..." Clint started to say he heard Silas's voice, but he didn't expect Natasha to take that moment to leap from his grasp.
"No!" Clint screamed, his voice cracking with despair.
Unlike Clint's grief, Silas was currently bouncing between cosmic barriers due to the reflection from the Marvel Universe. Like a marble in a jar, he tumbled from one universe's wall to another until he encountered a particularly weak barrier and managed to drill his way inside.
Unknown World
BOOM!!!
Silas arrived here with a crash. Because he had been flung back with such incredible force, the impact sent him smashing directly into a mountain range.
"Talk about... ups and downs..." Silas muttered, slowly walking out from the center of the mountain. He had nearly punched a hole straight through the range.
He brushed the dust and debris off his clothes. He had only intended to test if he could travel through time; he never expected to punch through the walls of the universe. It reminded him of that scene with the Flash—going so fast that he vibrated into Supergirl's world.
"Does this mean I don't need to build the Wall-Breaker machine anymore?" Silas rubbed his chin in thought. Then again, he had been in a daze while bouncing around; he felt like he had hit quite a few things.
"Blacklight?" Silas tried to contact his AI, but there was no response. Under normal circumstances, Blacklight would never ignore him.
"Could it be..." Silas had an uneasy feeling. Had he traveled to yet another world? It wasn't impossible.
He immediately took flight and looked down. Below him stretched the vast Himalayas.
"Looks like it's still Earth." Silas surveyed the surroundings and then flew East. There was a major nation in that direction. To figure out where he was, he needed to find civilization.
The Marvel World
Clint stood alone, staring blankly at the Soul Stone in his hand. He wanted to jump after her, but he couldn't. The hope of all humanity rested on this stone, and his family was waiting for him. Looking down at the bloodstain at the foot of the cliff, Clint activated his temporal device and vanished.
On Xandar:
Rhodey happily secured the Power Stone. "It's time to go."
"Yeah..." Nebula suddenly felt like her head was about to explode. Something was overriding her consciousness. Rhodey, oblivious to her distress, activated his return sequence and vanished back to the future.
He didn't realize that Nebula hadn't followed him.
In the depths of space, a massive warship hung silent.
"Check her memory. Find out where the other Nebula is," Thanos said, his eyes cold as he looked at the 2014 Nebula.
As the two Nebulas' consciousnesses synced, Thanos saw everything that happened in the future. He saw that he had successfully completed his destiny. But he also saw that this group of people refused to accept fate; they had reversed time to get ahead of him.
"She! Your daughter is a traitor!" Ebony Maw used his telekinetic tendrils to tighten around Nebula's neck.
"No! That's impossible! I would never betray you!" Nebula cried out in pain.
Thanos didn't say much. He walked slowly toward her, tore the tendrils from her neck, and cupped her chin. "I believe you. Now is your chance to prove yourself." He gave a faint smile—one that was utterly terrifying.
Meanwhile, the Future Nebula was frantically trying to contact Clint and the others, unaware they had already returned. Above her, Thanos's ship utilized its wormhole jumping technology, locking onto her position.
Future Marvel World — Avengers HQ
"Is everyone back?!" Peter asked immediately upon his return.
"We got it!" Rhodey was the first to cheer, holding up the Power Stone.
"Me too. Look at this! The thing you guys were all fighting over," Scott said, striking a pose with the Mind Scepter.
Peter produced the Tesseract, Thor brought the Reality Stone, and Professor Hulk held the Time Stone.
"Misty is a total liar," Professor Hulk grumbled, recalling his encounter with the Ancient One. He had nearly not made it back.
They didn't notice a strange, fleeting glint in Nebula's eyes. The excited Avengers were too distracted to notice—until they realized someone was missing. Natasha.
"Where's Nat?" Professor Hulk asked, handing the Time Stone to Peter.
Clint, with tear streaks still on his face, whispered, "She... she's not coming back."
"Why?!" Professor Hulk became agitated. If he weren't in his "smart" form, he might have gone on a rampage.
Clint explained the price of the Soul Stone. The joy of the room plummeted into a deep, somber silence.
"It's okay. We have the stones. We can bring her back," Professor Hulk said, trying to find hope. He didn't yet realize that the stones couldn't reverse a Soul Stone sacrifice.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Peter led everyone to the lab, but before leaving, he cast a sharp, lingering glance at Nebula.
Nebula didn't notice. She slowed her pace, stopping at the lab door. Instead of entering, she turned and walked back toward the time machine.
In the Lab:
Peter had already constructed a gauntlet similar to the one Silas had designed. It was made of nano-technology. They weren't sure if it could handle the power of all six stones yet.
As the mechanical arms carefully placed the stones into their slots, everyone held their breath.
"BOOM!" Rocket suddenly yelled.
Peter nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Hahaha!" Rocket doubled over laughing at Peter's reaction.
"Okay, was that really necessary?" Peter panted, clutching his chest.
Rocket shrugged. "I thought it was pretty good. Anyway, the stones are in. Who's gonna snap their fingers?"
"I'll do it!" Clint stepped forward. He wanted Natasha back.
Rocket shook his head. "No. It has to be someone with a very durable body, or they won't survive the surge. Did you forget what happened to Thanos?"
"Then it seems it's up to me," Thor said, standing up with grim resolve. Since he had retrieved Mjolnir from the past, he felt he had regained his worthiness.
"No. Your mental state isn't stable enough," Steve interjected, stopping him. Thor had been on edge since they returned.
"Trust me. What do you think flows through my veins?" Thor asked confidently. The blood of Odin! He was the God of Thunder!
"Cheez-Wiz?" Rhodey quipped.
Thor glared at him, but before he could argue, Peter spoke up. "They're right, Thor. This snap... it's more suited for Professor Hulk."
Everyone turned their gaze toward the Green Giant.
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