----
Knowhere, the Collector's Vault
Even Taneleer Tivan had to wonder if he'd finally lost his mind.
This wasn't some back-alley xeno he could harvest for his collection. The man who had just left his vault was one of the most dangerous beings in the cosmos someone who had slain Knull, the Lord of the Abyss himself.
Knull had once decapitated a Celestial; the skull of that god now was Knowhere.
And Nolan had killed him.
Tivan exhaled shakily, still feeling the pulse of fear in his ancient heart. "The Supreme Sorcerer," he muttered, "they're all mad…"
He forced a smile. "A pleasure doing business with you. Truly. Please visit again anytime."
Nolan cast him a final, unreadable glance.
He knew the truth: once Thanos began tracking the Infinity Stones, Tivan's days were numbered.
With a gesture, a golden portal spiraled open. Nolan stepped through and vanished.
Tivan watched the space fold shut, then turned back to the Power Stone now in his hands, housed within its gleaming orb.
A delighted grin spread across his face.
"Ha! My dear brother, the Grandmaster, will choke on this! He flaunted that green brute in his arena for centuries; now I have the Power Stone. Let's see him top that!"
---
Osborn Corp Headquarters Underground Research Complex
Back on Earth, Nolan stepped into his lab, the crimson glow of the newly acquired Reality Stone still faintly shimmering beneath his palm.
"Three down," he murmured. "Soul Stone can wait… Thanos will fetch it for me."
He turned to his AI. "E.L.L., summon the board."
Moments later, Reed Richards, Curt Connors, Norman Osborn, Hank Pym, Viper, Max Dillon, Gordon, Otto Octavius, Stephen Strange, Wanda Maximoff, and others filled the chamber.
---
"Project Multiverse Phase I: The Zombie Universe"
Nolan stood at the head of the table, his voice calm but carrying across the hall. "Today, Osborn Corporation takes its first step beyond our reality. Reed, brief them."
Reed adjusted his glasses, excitement flickering in his eyes.
"The destination is what we've designated as Earth-Z, commonly referred to as the Zombie Universe. Based on the dimensional resonance data Nolan provided, the timeline suffered a catastrophic viral cascade most life forms are dead or… undead. We've detected massive temporal interference, which prevents anchoring a pre-infection point. We'll have to enter after the outbreak."
On a nearby holo-display, Reed pulled up footage fragments of zombified heroes, crumbling cities, and collapsing skies.
"The mission objectives," he continued, "are to collect genetic and energetic samples from enhanced undead entities. We need live material to refine our Super-Serum Z a formula capable of reversing or neutralizing the infection in superhuman physiology."
Curt Connors added, "Our previous iterations restored baseline humans. But for metas mutants, gods, and gamma subjects, we lack data. Field capture is essential."
Nolan nodded once. "Good. This is a test run for large-scale multiversal traversal. What we learn here will decide whether future incursions rely on humans or machines."
He turned to the group.
"Primary strike team: Connors, Gordon, Pym, Viper, Max, and Strange. Support units: the Defenders Corps. Reed, Norman, Otto, Hank, and Wanda remain on standby to monitor from Earth."
---
Osborn Corp Multiversal Launch Bay
Days later, deep beneath the skyscraper, an enormous ring-shaped device thrummed with energy, and at its core shimmered a tunnel of warped light a stable trans-dimensional corridor.
Beside it rested the transport craft, a streamlined mag-lev railgun capsule the Void Breaker I.
Wanda stepped forward, scarlet energy flickering in her eyes.
"I still think I should come," she said quietly.
Nolan smiled faintly. "If something happens here while we're gone, you're the only one strong enough to hold this world together. Protect it."
She hesitated, then nodded. "Just… be careful."
Nolan turned toward the portal. The Reality Stone flared within his chest like a heartbeat.
"Osborn Corp initiates multiversal traversal. Destination: Earth-Z."
The air split apart with a roar.
The Void Breaker shot forward into the rift, vanishing into the unknown.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!