From Doctor Doom's posture and tone, Thanos could immediately tell one thing—he wasn't confident in facing Ultron alone. That was the real reason he had approached him for cooperation instead of joining the fight directly.
But confidence wasn't the only variable here.
There was also intent.
Thanos's gaze flicked briefly toward Doom's masked face, then down to the Infinity Gauntlet on his own hand. A quiet calculation unfolded in his mind. With four stones in his possession, he was already a valuable target. To someone like Doctor Doom, that didn't just represent power—it represented opportunity.
Or bait.
There were too many possibilities. Doom could be sincere, wanting to combine forces to defeat Ultron before dividing the spoils. Or he could be planning to use Thanos as a distraction, letting Ultron weaken him before striking at both sides. Worse, he could be aiming to eliminate Ultron first and then turn on him immediately afterward.
With villains, trust wasn't just dangerous—it was suicidal.
They didn't have a moral line to cross. They didn't hesitate. They didn't regret.
Thanos had no intention of underestimating that.
If Doom truly wanted Ultron's stones, the most logical move would have been to join Carnage in attacking him. Instead, he came here, proposing a split. That alone made his offer suspicious.
Without hesitation, Thanos shook his head.
"Not interested."
His tone was flat, dismissive, leaving no room for negotiation.
Doctor Doom fell silent for a moment. Then his gaze shifted to Thanos's gauntlet, lingering on the embedded stones with unmistakable greed.
"What a pity," he said quietly.
The battlefield trembled again.
"Boom!"
Explosions echoed across the dead planet as Ultron and Carnage continued their clash. The impact of their blows sent shockwaves rippling through the ruins, tearing apart what little structure remained.
Carnage roared as his body shifted, sprouting two massive, wing-like appendages made of writhing flesh. The organic structures twisted and reformed constantly, adjusting mid-flight as he surged toward Ultron again.
But Ultron was no longer relying on brute force.
A green light flared.
In an instant, everything stopped.
Carnage froze mid-motion, his body locked in place. The surrounding air, the dust, even the microscopic particles in the environment—all of it halted completely.
Time had been severed.
This was no simple restraint. It was absolute temporal control, a precise application of the Time Stone that reached down to the smallest scale.
Doctor Doom couldn't help but comment, his voice carrying genuine admiration. "The power of his stones is impressive, but his control is even more so. That level of precision… it's extraordinary."
Thanos nodded slightly.
He agreed.
The Infinity Stones were tools, nothing more. Their true potential depended entirely on the wielder. Most users barely scratched the surface, relying on crude, direct applications of their abilities.
Ultron, however, had gone further.
Much further.
But Carnage was not so easily contained.
Cracks began to spread across his frozen form, thin fractures forming along the surface of his body. The tension built rapidly until, with a sharp, shattering sound, the temporal lock broke apart.
"Crack!"
In the next instant, Carnage surged forward again, his body snapping back into motion as if time itself had been forced to yield.
Ultron's eyes narrowed.
A dangerous glint flickered within them.
He raised his spear, preparing to unleash his full power and end the fight decisively.
Then—
A sound.
It came from far away, faint at first, but unmistakable.
A soft, resonant tone, like the delicate strike of piano keys echoing through space. Clear, precise, and utterly out of place in the dead silence of this world.
Both Ultron and Carnage stopped instantly.
They felt it.
An overwhelming presence, vast and suffocating, radiating from the source of that sound.
Thanos reacted immediately.
He rose into the air, ascending rapidly until he reached an altitude of nearly ten kilometers. From that vantage point, his enhanced vision finally pierced the distance.
Six gateways had appeared.
Each one identical to the portal he had used to arrive here, shaped like a five-pointed star.
From them, six figures emerged.
Behind him, Ultron, Carnage, and Doctor Doom also took to the sky, their attention fixed on the newcomers. As they recognized the identities of their opponents, their expressions shifted.
There was something… familiar.
Thanos's eyes narrowed slightly.
One of the six was—
Himself.
Or rather, another version of himself.
At that moment, the newcomers also noticed the four of them.
Ultron spoke first, his voice cold and decisive. "These are the enemies sent by them. Choose your targets."
The meaning was clear.
There would be no cooperation.
Each would fight for themselves.
Thanos understood immediately. Ultron didn't trust any of them, and frankly, the feeling was mutual. A coordinated strategy among villains was unrealistic.
"Then I'll take him," Thanos said without hesitation, pointing directly at his counterpart.
Ultron, Carnage, and Doctor Doom didn't object. Their attention had already shifted to selecting their own opponents, each calculating silently.
But beneath that calculation, there was disdain.
They looked down on him.
In their eyes, Thanos—with only four Infinity Stones—was incomplete. The other Thanos possessed all six, making the comparison obvious.
Even though most of the stones here were inactive, the number still carried meaning. It reflected what each version had achieved in their own universe.
To them, Thanos had not even conquered his own reality.
He wasn't their equal.
…
More than a thousand kilometers away, the opposing group stood together, observing them with equal caution.
There were six of them.
Aside from Thanos II, the others were equally formidable.
A version of Doctor Strange stood at the center, his face marked by dark, smoky patterns. Behind him floated a massive, ominous book, and six Infinity Stones orbited around him in silent motion.
Beside him was a Binary Captain Marvel, her skin dark and glowing with intense red energy. The Infinity Gauntlet rested on her hand, fully equipped with six stones.
A figure resembling a sentinel stood nearby, clad in a black cloak and yellow suit, golden eyes shining with an unnatural intensity. Six stones were embedded along his belt.
Then there was Moon Knight, wrapped entirely in gray-white bandages, a white cloak draped over his shoulders. A crescent pendant rested on his chest, and at his waist were six more stones.
Finally, there was the Hulk.
Towering nearly three meters tall, his dark green body radiated raw, overwhelming strength.
Among the six, only Hulk lacked Infinity Stones.
Everyone else carried a complete set.
Thanos observed them carefully.
So this is what happens when power reaches a certain threshold.
Infinity Stones… become standard equipment.
Doctor Strange spoke first. "Shall we fight together?"
The others nodded without hesitation.
Unlike the fractured group on Thanos's side, this team was unified.
Without wasting time, Strange raised his hands and began casting. Complex gestures formed rapidly as layers of magic spread across his allies, enhancing and reinforcing them.
At that moment, Thanos II stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Thanos.
"I'll take him," he said quietly. "I want to help him break free from Death's influence… and return to the right path."
There was pity in his voice.
In his mind, the Thanos before him had simply gone astray, manipulated by a higher force. Just as he himself once had been.
The others didn't object.
It didn't matter to them.
Before any further planning could take place, Hulk slammed his fists together and roared, his impatience breaking through.
"Enough talking! Hulk's hungry!"
Without waiting for a response, he crouched low and launched himself forward, his massive body tearing through the air toward the enemy.
Doctor Strange's expression changed instantly. "Wait—let's coordinate first—"
It was too late.
Hulk had already committed.
Strange sighed, frustration evident, before following after him.
"Why is the Hulk in every universe like this…" he muttered.
The remaining four exchanged brief glances.
Then, without another word, they moved as well.
.....
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