The very first question in this round of the quiz game was enough to grab everyone's attention—
especially in worlds that had already experienced this mysterious quiz before, such zezas the Marvel Universe.
Audiences there knew all too well how terrifying Thanos was: a being who single-handedly shattered the Avengers in direct combat and, with a single snap of his fingers, wiped out half the life in the universe.
A monster like that… killed in an instant?
Perhaps to help new players get up to speed, the game thoughtfully played a highlight reel of Thanos' most famous battles.
The short video was a masterful edit, condensing the very essence of his fights: Thanos towering like an apocalyptic titan, mowing down super-powered opponents again and again.
That infamous line—"I am inevitable."—radiated crushing despair.
Against such an enemy, you might not even have the will to resist.
Homelander watched in silence, his heart pounding. He had never imagined that, outside his own world, there were beings this powerful.
It made him realize just how small his own perspective had been—focused only on Earth—while Thanos commanded vast space fleets, snuffing out civilizations as if they were nothing.
'If Thanos invaded my world… could I stop him?' he wondered.
And then another thought struck him:
'If I had the Infinity Stones… I could create my own perfect world.'
That hunger to win the quiz game ignited in him.
Once the Thanos montage ended, the screen displayed short videos introducing the four answer choices.
Captain Marvel and Thor were easily the most impressive:
Captain Marvel clashed head-on with Thanos without losing ground.
Thor came dangerously close to killing an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos.
Ultron's footage focused on his robotic army fighting various superheroes.
As for Wanda, the clips were from before she became the Scarlet Witch—interesting, but far less overwhelming than Captain Marvel or Thor.
Tony, watching intently, kept his thoughts to himself. With Homelander here, it's too risky to openly discuss answers. If he catches on, it'll be trouble later.
Privately, Tony was leaning toward D. The Wanda in the video was clearly "nerfed."
Anyone who hadn't seen her future transformation—storming another reality and annihilating the Illuminati in moments—might underestimate her.
In the Illuminati's universe, they took down Thanos together, yet Wanda destroyed them singlehandedly. In some timeline, maybe she's the one who killed Thanos, Tony reasoned.
He considered telling Natasha, but then heard her murmur:
"If Thanos invaded Earth… could he kill Ultron?"
Tony blinked. "Wait, what? You're saying Ultron is scarier than Thanos?"
"Of course," Natasha replied coldly. "Ultron destroyed my timeline. I've seen what he's truly capable of—far more than that little video showed, where you, Thor, Steve, and Vision took him down so easily."
Tony frowned. "No way. Ultron's my creation. How could he possibly one-shot Thanos? That doesn't make sense."
Just then, the system's voice rang out overhead:
[Countdown begins!
Players may buzz in to answer.
Correct buzz-in: +4 points
Incorrect buzz-in: −4 points
Normal answer: correct +1, incorrect −1
Caution: Accumulating −5 points triggers first-level punishment. −10 points: second-level punishment. −15 points: immediate erasure]
The timer started ticking down.
Each player had a buzzer before them.
Aside from Tony and Erik, the rest were newcomers.
Natasha hesitated. Bruce Banner hesitated.
Homelander, however, grinned and slammed the buzzer first:
"B! I choose Thor!"
In truth, Thor was the only one he really knew.
He'd seen Thor's clips in a previous round but dismissed them back then as some alien hoax.
After being crushed by Superman in a one-sided fight, though, he had to admit Thor's strength—and believed Thor could easily kill Thanos if given another chance.
If Thor himself had heard that, he'd be flattered…
but he'd also have to break the bad news:
Even with multiple tries, he hadn't managed to one-shot Thanos.
The only reason they'd succeeded in a recent mission world was because that version of Thanos was weakened.
Following Homelander, Tony chose D, and Magneto did the same—both aware of Wanda's true power.
Bruce chose A, Natasha chose C.
Her voice was firm: "Thanos is strong, but I don't think he could beat Ultron."
Tony shook his head. "Impossible."
The countdown hit zero.
[Correct answer: C Ultron]
[Congratulations! Player Natasha Romanoff. +1 point]
[Player Homelander: incorrect buzz-in, −4 points. Player Tony Stark, player Erik Lehnsherr, and Player Bruce Banner: incorrect, −1 point each]
Homelander's smile vanished. His eyes widened like a predator ready to tear someone apart.
Tony was just as stunned.
"…What?! How is that possible? Ultron? Why Ultron?!"
___
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