Zod hadn't removed his battle suit or helmet. He hadn't been exposed to Earth's sun or atmosphere at all. Without those power sources, his combat strength was average.
WHAM.
He charged forward. Clark's fist caught him in the chest, and Zod flew backward. He struggled to his feet, armor dented and cracking. He charged again.
CRACK.
Another punch sent him tumbling across the earth. This time he didn't get up as quickly. He stared down at his chest plate. The Kryptonian armor that had protected him through countless battles was caved inward, crushed like aluminum foil. He could feel his ribs grinding together, broken in multiple places.
He looked at Clark. "How are you this strong?"
It didn't make sense. By every metric, Clark should have been weaker than him, significantly weaker.
His genetic template was that of a general, bred specifically for combat command. On Krypton, even if he wasn't the strongest, his individual combat ability ranked in the top ten across their entire civilization. And this... child... was beating him like he was nothing.
"Zod, surrender. It doesn't have to end like this."
BOOM.
An explosion erupted behind Zod, cutting off whatever response he might have made. Thanos' mothership had opened fire on the grounded Kryptonian scout ship. The vessel's energy reserves were already critically low after the space battle. This time, the shields failed completely. The explosion tore through the ship's hull, and Kryptonian bodies were flung into the air. Some of them were still moving when they hit the ground. Others weren't so lucky.
A small transport craft descended from the mothership, and several figures materialized via tractor beam. Infinite Thanos arrived with his Black Order in tow. Young Thanos had been dispatched to secure the World Engine floating in orbit.
That terraforming device was the real prize here. Planet-shaping technology like that was basically a cheat code for colonization. With it, the number of habitable worlds available would increase exponentially. It was arguably the most valuable piece of loot the Kryptonians possessed, aside from their own bodies.
As Thanos approached Zod, he called out to Clark. "I'll handle the general. Go save your people. Bring back the bodies too, we can still use them."
Mario's orders had been explicit: eliminate Zod. His status, words, or potential value, none of it mattered. The general had to die.
But Mario didn't want Clark's hands stained with Kryptonian blood. Better to let Thanos play the villain.
"Can't you spare him?"
Thanos shook his head. "He's their leader. If he lives, the others will never truly surrender. They'll always look to him for command. One life for the future of your entire species. I think he understands the mathematics."
Zod heard every word of their conversation. Despite the pain radiating from his broken ribs, he felt something like relief. As long as they weren't planning complete extermination, the Kryptonian race had hope. His own sacrifice meant nothing. He'd been willing to sacrifice Kal-El for Krypton's survival. Sacrificing himself was no different.
But that didn't mean he'd go quietly.
As Thanos approached, he felt the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Mad Titan. A savage grin split his face. "Defeat me, and I'll order them to surrender."
Thanos studied him for a moment, and something like respect flickered in his eyes. "For the continuation of your race, you are a qualified leader. But you're blocking his path."
"His" meant Mario. Always Mario.
Fully armed and armored, he charged forward with his double-bladed sword raised. The Infinity Stones in his gauntlet remained dark and lifeless. The key to controlling DC's cosmic energy wasn't the Stones, it was the Mother Boxes.
CLANG.
He brought the blade down in an overhead strike. Zod raised his arm to block, and the Kryptonian armor held, barely. The sword left only a shallow scratch on the bracer.
WHAM.
Thanos' boot caught Zod in the chest. The Kryptonian general flew backward, his already damaged armor crumpling further. Seeing that the blade was ineffective, Thanos tossed it aside.
Flames erupted from his boots. He shot forward, closing the distance in an instant.
The physical gap between them was enormous. Thanos' hand clamped around Zod's throat. The general swung desperately, his fists hammering into Thanos' arm. The blows had some effect, but they weren't enough to break his grip. Thanos' other hand closed around Zod's helmet. With a grinding crunch of metal, he crushed the faceplate with raw strength.
The moment Earth's atmosphere hit Zod's lungs, suffocation swept through him. His face went pale, lips turning blue as his body struggled to adapt to alien air. Thanos held him at arm's length. "Your bodies are formidable. But your adaptability leaves something to be desired."
It was true. Superman had incredible power, but also glaring weaknesses. Kryptonite, red sun radiation, magic, Lois Lane, Batman... The list went on.
"You've lost," Thanos said simply.
Zod couldn't see clearly anymore. Dizziness washed over him in waves, his vision tunneling as oxygen deprivation took hold. But he forced himself to remain conscious long enough to speak into his communicator.
"Surrender to Kal-El. Obey his commands."
Thanos' smile widened. He placed his hand on Zod's head like a father might comfort a child. Then he twisted with all his strength.
CRACK.
The sound of Zod's neck snapping echoed across the battlefield. His head rotated a full 180 degrees, eyes staring lifelessly at the sky. The body that had been struggling went limp instantly. Thanos dropped the corpse. Obsidian stepped forward wordlessly and hoisted Zod's body onto his shoulder.
Thanos retrieved his double-bladed sword from the ground and pointed it at the surviving Kryptonians who were struggling to their feet.
"Take all Kryptonians into custody. Kill any who resist."
Clark flew over immediately. With Zod dead, he needed to convince the survivors to surrender before some idiot tried to fight Thanos and got themselves killed. He could feel the Mad Titan's casual contempt for life, how easily death came to his hands.
---
Aboard the mothership, Mario watched the execution on the main viewscreen. He turned to Ivan, who stood beside him monitoring various readouts.
"Thanos' killing method is way too graphic. I'm never eating canned fruit again."
The comparison was unfortunately apt, Zod's head twisting like a bottle cap had definite similarities to opening a can. Ivan smiled but didn't respond. Since joining Mario's operation, he hadn't eaten canned food at all. Fresh meals were one of the perks.
"Send Zod's body to Banner's lab. He'll want to study the genetic structure. As for the other Kryptonians, find them a suitable planet. Let them reproduce naturally."
He'd promised Clark, and Mario kept his promises. Natural-born Kryptonians might have wildly varying power levels, but that was like gacha mechanics, eventually you'd pull a few SSRs.
---
The Kryptonian invasion had been resolved perfectly.
The survivors got a new homeworld. Clark solved his people's survival problem without having to personally eliminate his own kind like in the original timeline. And Mario paid the price of one life-bearing planet, specifically, one of the six that Yondu had spent years searching for.
More importantly, it was a planet with a yellow sun. The Kryptonians stationed there would all have opportunities to grow stronger over time.
Back on Endstar, Mario took stock of the operation's gains. The terraforming device, shrunk with Pym Particles, sat on a workbench.
"Rocket, figure out how this Kryptonian terraformer works. Once we understand it, resource scarcity becomes a non-issue."
Rocket didn't look up from his scanner. "Hey, with our current tech level, depleting the galaxy's resources is basically impossible anyway. We've got more raw materials than we know what to do with."
Mario nodded in agreement. Whether a planet was habitable and whether it had resources were two different questions. Just the stellar energy from the galaxy's suns alone would be enough to power his operations until the heat death of the universe.
"Fair point. I'll leave it to you then."
Laboratories weren't his natural environment. Among these intellects, he felt like an illiterate. He recognized the words individually, but when they combined into technical jargon, they might as well have been hieroglyphics. The hypnotic effect was real too. Five minutes around scientific equipment and he'd be fighting to stay awake.
But he didn't mind. Bosses couldn't possibly know everything. That's why you hired specialists.
He left the lab and headed for Eric's transportation department. His phone rang as he walked along the stone-paved pathways.
Tony? Why is he calling me?
"Yeah?"
Tony's voice came through the speaker. "I used to be a real bastard, didn't I?"
Mario stopped walking. That tone, that wasn't playful banter. Something had happened.
"Did someone tell you something? What's going on?"
On the other end, sitting in his penthouse, Tony looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot. When he heard Mario's concern, some life returned to his expression.
"No, nobody told me anything. It's just... some things happened these past few days."
Mario's voice shifted, taking on a lighter tone. "That's good. Don't listen to people's bullshit anyway. You weren't just a bastard before. You're still kind of a bastard now."
"Mario, compared to you, I feel like I still need to learn a lot."
But his mood had improved noticeably. That was the thing about Mario, he could be an ass, but he was honest about it.
"Alright, cut the self-pity. What happened?"
"Wanda came to see me."
Mario's full attention snapped into focus. He stopped moving entirely. "Where is she now? Please tell me you didn't let her escape. Because if you did, you should retire immediately."
With Tony's current armor specifications, not quite Endgame level but close, and with even more firepower thanks to Ivan's Soviet-influenced weapons philosophy, there was no excuse for losing a target.
"What I'm saying is... Wanda and Pietro are currently guests at my place."
Mario blinked. That made zero sense. Logically, Wanda and Pietro should have tried to kill Tony. They definitely shouldn't be having tea at Stark Tower.
"Seriously? Have they already gotten their powers?"
Pietro and Wanda had volunteered for Baron Strucker's experiments in the original timeline. But Mario had personally gift-wrapped Strucker and delivered him to Jiaying months ago. The remaining Hydra forces had been cleaned up by S.H.I.E.L.D., though never completely, because Hydra was like cockroaches.
"Yeah, they've got abilities. Wanda's awakened Chaos Magic, and Pietro has superhuman speed. If Scarlet Witch wasn't here as a guest, I might have had some trouble..."
Scarlet Witch? Wait, what?
"Hold on... Scarlet and Vision are there too? Don't move. I'm coming there right now."
Mario hung up, pulled out a teleportation scroll, and activated it. These things were incredibly convenient, though he still preferred using the waystone when possible. More ceremonial.
Tony sat on his couch, and was kind of confused.
Why do I have to stand still? Why do I suddenly feel like I'm about to be taken advantage of?
---
Minutes later, Mario materialized inside Stark Tower.
Tony stood to greet him, arms open for a hug. After a beat, Mario sighed and stepped in, returning it briefly before pulling away. Tony grinned. "See? That wasn't so terrible. I don't usually hug men either."
Mario walked into the living room and immediately spotted Vision and Scarlet Witch. Off to the side, looking distinctly uncomfortable, were this universe's Wanda and Quicksilver.
The moment he saw Quicksilver, his jaw dropped.
That's mutant Quicksilver!
The man standing there wasn't Aaron Taylor-Johnson. It was Evan Peters, the Quicksilver from the X-Men universe who'd single-handedly evacuated an entire mansion during an explosion.
Did this universe merge Fox's licensing? Did they just import the mutant version wholesale?
Scarlet Witch stood and approached him. "Mario."
She was grateful to him. After he'd resurrected Vision, he'd brought them both back and left them on Earth without assigning dangerous missions. She and Vision had been traveling peacefully ever since. They'd come to visit Tony and stumbled into this universe's Wanda and Pietro attempting revenge. Scarlet had subdued them and used Chaos Magic to explain certain future events.
Mario opened his arms. Scarlet smiled and hugged him. When they separated, he shot Vision a warning glare as the android started to move.
You're made of vibranium. No hugs for you.
"Why are you two here? Wait, Scarlet... does your brother look like this?"
Sadness flickered across Scarlet's face. "No. My brother looked different. But I used Chaos Magic to verify, he is this world's Pietro. He is Quicksilver."
Mario's curiosity immediately kicked into overdrive. He pulled a blood-drawing kit from his inventory.
"Come here, buddy. Let's get a blood sample."
Pietro looked alarmed. "Uh... what?"
---
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