"Good work."
Peter got to his feet and held out a hand, intending to shake hands with the blue cloak. Unfortunately, the cloak completely ignored him and immediately flew back onto Strange's shoulders.
"We need to turn this ship around."
Tony strode over to the controls, but this vessel was completely different from Quill's ship. He had no idea how to operate it.
There was no control panel, no visible engines—only a blue holographic display and a lone floating chair.
"Sir, the ship appears to be automatically correcting its course."
JARVIS's voice sounded.
"How do you know that? Can you change it?"
Tony asked.
"Sorry, sir. I've never encountered a system like this before. There's no reference data, so..."
JARVIS was becoming more and more human. Even his refusals were starting to sound tactful.
Tony said nothing. He simply paced back and forth in front of the controls, head lowered in thought.
"Tony, what are you thinking about?"
Strange asked.
"I'm wondering whether we should go back."
Tony stopped and looked at him.
"Tony, if I'm not mistaken, this ship is heading straight for the enemy's headquarters. We absolutely cannot let the Time Stone fall into Thanos's hands."
Strange's guess was correct. Ebony Maw had set the ship's destination to rendezvous with Thanos.
"Strange, I want to defeat Thanos even more than you do. That's why we need a better plan—a plan that actually works."
Tony sounded irritated. For the moment, he couldn't think of any way three people could possibly stand against Thanos and his armies.
"Uh... I think..."
Peter timidly raised a hand.
"When adults are talking, kids don't interrupt."
Tony turned and said it before sinking back into thought.
"But Thanos probably thinks nobody would ever dare come looking for him. So why don't we take the initiative and catch him off guard?"
Peter spoke anyway.
His reasoning was simple: they were already on the ship, and they couldn't change its course. Why not go all in and strike directly at Thanos's base?
To be fair, Peter wasn't lacking in brains. An MIT-level student wasn't just for show.
Tony's eyes lit up.
"That's right. You're absolutely right. Given everything Thanos has done, he'd never expect someone to take the fight directly to him. We can hit him when he least expects it."
With that thought, Tony immediately called up JARVIS.
"JARVIS, try establishing communication with Avengers Tower. The three of us aren't enough to take on Thanos. We need to get in touch with Carl and the others."
---
Deep in space, a colossal triangular warship floated silently in the void.
Several ring-shaped ships docked into two massive openings beneath it.
The vessel was so enormous it resembled a city drifting through the stars.
Seated upon a throne, Thanos rested calmly while Gamora sat on the steps below him.
A servant approached carrying a tray of food.
Gamora kicked both the tray and the servant away.
The servant tumbled across the floor and immediately knelt before Thanos, not daring to raise his head.
Thanos sighed and waved a hand.
Only then did the servant scramble away in relief.
Gamora knew exactly what Thanos wanted.
He wanted the secret she had guarded for so many years.
And she knew that if she told him, he would move one step closer to his goal.
"Gamora, my daughter. I know you can find the Soul Stone."
Thanos rose and walked toward her.
"Then you'll be disappointed. I have no idea where the Soul Stone is."
Gamora stood as well, refusing to back down despite the enormous size difference between them.
"You disappoint me. You do know where it is. You're lying."
Thanos snapped his fingers.
An image appeared in the air.
It showed a conversation between Gamora and Nebula.
In it, Gamora clearly stated that she had found a map leading to the Soul Stone—and then burned it.
"I taught you everything you know, but I never taught you how to lie. You're terrible at it, Gamora."
He paced behind her.
"The last time I'll ask. Where is the Soul Stone?"
The three Infinity Stones embedded in his gauntlet glowed ominously.
Gamora remained silent.
"Do you really think I have no way of finding out?"
Thanos grabbed her by the head.
Two of the stones dimmed.
Only the red Reality Stone continued to shine brilliantly.
Crimson energy surged into Gamora's mind.
Her memories were extracted and projected before both of them.
"Vormir... So that's where the Stone is."
The Reality Stone quickly uncovered the answer.
"Set course for Vormir immediately."
Thanos's command echoed through the chamber.
No one answered, yet the ship immediately altered course and entered a space-jump.
---
Meanwhile, Thor, Rocket, and Groot had arrived at Nidavellir.
The place was silent as a graveyard.
No one was there.
Only dust-covered forging equipment remained.
"This place has obviously been abandoned for a long time."
Rocket looked around.
Everywhere he turned was decay and neglect.
Then he stopped in front of a massive piece of equipment.
"You said Thanos had a gauntlet, right?"
At those words, Thor and Groot both turned toward what Rocket was staring at.
Mounted nearby was a giant metal gauntlet.
Each finger and the back of the hand contained oval-shaped sockets.
"We need to leave. Now."
A sense of foreboding hit Thor.
The gauntlet was identical to Thanos's.
Which meant Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet had been forged here.
The dwarves might have betrayed them.
This place was no longer safe.
But just as Thor turned around, an enormous figure appeared.
The giant swatted Thor away with one hand and kicked Groot flying with the other.
Before anyone could react, the giant crossed the distance in a few strides and raised a massive fist over Thor.
"Eitri, stop! Stop! It's me—Thor!"
Thor quickly threw up both hands and shouted his identity.
The giant froze.
Through a tangled curtain of hair, he stared at the man on the ground.
"Thor?"
Clearly, he recognized him.
The fist lowered.
"What happened here?"
Seeing that Eitri was no longer hostile, Thor stood and asked.
"You should have come sooner! Asgard was supposed to protect us!"
Eitri roared.
The dwarves had forged weapons for Asgard for generations, and in return Asgard had always protected them.
This time, that protection never came.
"Asgard no longer exists."
Thor did not grow angry at Eitri's accusation.
He simply stated the fact.
Grief filled his eyes.
Then he pointed toward the giant gauntlet.
"How did that thing end up here?"
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