"Who are you?"
Garus scrutinized the man standing before him. He looked entirely human—blond hair, blue eyes, nothing visibly out of the ordinary. But on his head, he wore a device that looked suspiciously like Professor X's Cerebro.
The stranger smiled and held out both hands amicably.
"Name's Owen Reece. Earthling. From Universe-616."
"You're from Earth? And what the hell is Universe-616 supposed to be?"
In this reality, there were many humanoid alien species. Looks alone weren't enough to make a conclusion.
Besides Garus and this so-called Molecule Man, none of the others had even heard of the Omniverse, let alone its structure.
"Now's not the time for long explanations. We need to get back to Earth—fast. There's a powerful race trying to destroy and reboot the entire Omniversal structure. I have to stop them. Do any of you know the way to Earth?"
Gamora raised an eyebrow.
"Of course we do. But why should we trust you?"
"I believe him."
Someone with this level of power wouldn't need to lie—Garus could sense that much. He made a quick decision, conjuring a spatial rift that opened directly to Earth. The Legion warship they left in the ruins of Xandar would have to find its own way back.
In front of their ship, a speck of darkness appeared, rapidly expanding into a swirling gateway large enough to accommodate their vessel—a Death Gate.
"Fly the ship through. Earth's on the other side."
Star-Lord and Rocket guided the Milano out of the wormhole—what they saw next left everyone speechless.
Two identical Earths hovered side-by-side in the void of space, edging ever closer to one another. Between them drifted the wreckage of numerous starships. A battle had clearly taken place.
"This has to be the work of the Beyonders. And I guarantee they're watching us right now," Molecule Man said, glancing around.
"If two versions of Earth from separate universes collide, it'll trigger a catastrophic chain reaction. The entire Omniverse will collapse. Unless one of the Earths is destroyed first."
"Who—or what—are the Beyonders?"
Everyone was at a loss—even Garus had never heard the name before.
"They don't exist in any parallel universe. The Beyonders dwell outside of dimensional space itself. They aren't part of the Omniverse. They're a race of immensely powerful beings. I heard a rumor—the previous Living Tribunal was killed by them."
The Beyonders. The Living Tribunal. The Omniverse.
To the Guardians of the Galaxy, this was incomprehensible gibberish.
Garus pulled out the Helm of Dominion. With the combined amplification of the Mind Stone and Soul Stone, his psychic power surged like a tidal wave across space, searching for these elusive Beyonders. But could he even stand against them?
"Strange. I can't find them."
He frowned. Even after extending his consciousness to encompass the entire solar system, there was nothing.
As Garus began expanding his search radius, Molecule Man cut in:
"You won't find them. If the Beyonders are good at anything, it's hiding. I should know—they ambushed and imprisoned me. I only just escaped."
Eventually, Garus gave up. Instead, he examined the two Earths. On one of them, he sensed the presence of the Death Knight—and his Sky Fortress, Naxxramas.
"That's the Earth I'm from," Molecule Man said, pointing to the other planet.
So they were from different Earths.
"Looks like we're going to have a problem," Garus muttered.
"I'm not letting this universe be destroyed. But I'm not willing to sacrifice my own world either."
Star-Lord, whose hands had begun to glow with energy, raised them instinctively.
Molecule Man held up his hand.
"Wait. Fighting won't solve anything. It's exactly what the Beyonders want. They're out there somewhere, watching us. The only real solution is to find them—and kill them."
But that was easier said than done. No one knew how to find them.
Garus frowned again. He could feel their eyes—somewhere. But no matter how far his psychic net spread, it turned up nothing.
Suddenly, the nearby space distorted. Garus felt the connection between this pocket of space and the external world severed—and the two Earths inched closer still.
"I'm heading back."
No time to waste. Garus quickly opened another portal and stepped through.
"I'm leaving too. Please—everyone—stay calm. No war," said Molecule Man. Something about Garus unsettled him. There was a power hidden within that made even him feel uneasy.
His body dissolved into a stream of light and shot toward the other Earth.
"Let's head to Earth as well."
On one of the Earths, at the command center of Azeroth Technologies, alarms blared without warning.
"What's going on?"
One of the staffers, drenched in sweat, turned to the director.
"Sir—the system's overloading. Energy reserves are failing to keep up."
"That's impossible," said Dr. Wim, baffled. Ever since they began using Stardust's core as the system's main power source, this had never happened.
Just then, a portal opened beside them, and Garus stepped through. Wim exhaled in relief.
"Sir—"
"I already know," Garus interrupted.
The most critical task now was stopping the two Earths from colliding. If not for Molecule Man on the other Earth, Garus would've destroyed it without hesitation. It would have been effortless.
He had a feeling Owen Reece might be even stronger than he was.
Garus drew Frostmourne and removed the Space Stone from its hilt. He started to hand it to Wim—then paused.
Right, not everyone could handle this.
"Come with me to the Energy Room. We'll have to use this to power the system."
The Space Stone's energy was virtually limitless. Maybe—just maybe—it would buy them some time.
BOOM!
The ground rumbled beneath their feet. On the screen, the defense system showed signs of strain—one section, near the boundary point between the two Earths, was undergoing spatial distortion.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON