Chapter 144: The Watcher Bungles It
For the first time, Thanos hated the Infinity Stones so much.
"You can expertly use the Infinity Stones the moment you get them. It seems no matter what I do, I'll never be able to get rid of you."
Thanos's expression was ghastly. Generally speaking, a seasoned overlord like him wouldn't easily let his inner emotions show on his face, because such displays of emotion were, in most cases, just meaningless gestures.
But now, no matter how composed Thanos was, he couldn't hold it together anymore.
What the hell was this?
For the first time, he felt that his life, which should have been dedicated to fulfilling a great mission, was so insignificant in the hands of this Outsider before him.
No, it should be called cheap.
Thanos stared at the four Infinity Stones on Du Wa's hand, which were now glittering under the dim sky. Even though there were two conspicuous empty slots on the gauntlet, it still emanated a might that would draw the attention of even the Gods.
Thanos stared at these Infinity Stones, desperately trying to think of a way to bypass them, while Du Wa was also familiarizing himself with the power of these stones.
Indeed, this was his first time wielding the Infinity Stones. Each stone directly represented the supreme authority over a fundamental rule of the universe. As long as the user possessed enough power and was worthy, they could perfectly control the different rules the Infinity Stones represented.
For Du Wa, wielding four Infinity Stones was a piece of cake.
Furthermore, if he really got his hands on all six Infinity Stones at once, he would likely possess power surpassing the single-universe level in minutes. While not necessarily reaching the multiversal tier, he would at least achieve single-universe omnipotence.
This was also because the Infinity Stones had significant limitations. Ultimately, they were products of a specific region, and once they left that region, they were useless—less useful than a stone picked up randomly from the roadside.
However, even if Du Wa possessed all six Infinity Stones right now, with Tony's current body, it would be a huge burden to perfectly unleash their full might, even with a high-quality Xenomorph larva for support inside him.
But it didn't matter. Du Wa hadn't yet encountered a powerful enemy that surpassed the single-universe level, so he didn't need to equip all the Infinity Stones, nor did he need to designate Universe 199999's Tony Stark as the bearer.
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Du Wa placed the hand wearing the mechanical gauntlet on the big bald head of Thanos, who was kneeling from his severe injuries.
"Thanos, I accept your fealty. From now on, you are the first Thanos under my command, and I don't guarantee you'll be the last. I grant you the Xenomorph and conviction. You will fight for me until the last moment of your life," Du Wa said calmly, like a medieval lord accepting a knight's oath of fealty.
The Avengers were speechless for a long time. They felt the scene before them was too dissonant, with so many unbelievable aspects that they didn't know how to describe it.
"I might be hallucinating. He treated that gauntlet embedded with four Infinity Stones like a longsword and rested it on the knight's noggin—that's right, isn't it? Was I also unknowingly affected by the Reality Stone?" Rhodey was completely dumbfounded.
"You're not seeing things. He cracked Thanos's skull open, then after Thanos, unwilling to be humiliated, resolutely committed suicide, he successfully revived him with the Infinity Stones and is now holding his head down, demanding his loyalty… This is too bizarre. I feel like I'm watching a surreal stage play."
Banner lowered his head. Facing the questioning gazes of his comrades, he opened his mouth with a complicated expression, but he really didn't know how to explain. He could only subconsciously touch his own well-developed green pectoral muscles.
This was so absurd, it was just like a dream. From the moment of the time travel, everything had far exceeded the scope of what they could anticipate or control. The situation had completely spiraled out of control.
Look at what was happening now. The Thanos who was about to restart the universe had been forcibly conquered by an Outsider holding his head down—at least, that's how it looked physically.
So what happens next? Will Earth really become a better place? And when will the dead be resurrected and return?
"Maybe this isn't entirely a bad thing. The future promised by that person, no, that God, might be a good thing for ordinary people who have struggled with the cycle of life and death their entire lives… He can provide a safety net for all ordinary people," Banner muttered. He was pained and lost, yet he couldn't help but uncontrollably ponder a future scenario that no one had ever imagined.
"No!! No one can humiliate Thanos like this! Who is he? He is definitely not an Earthling! How could an Earthling possess this kind of strength!!"
Only Nebula was still howling in anger, like a beached fish that had lost its life's purpose, flailing uselessly under the stress. The mechanical parts of her brain were now in chaos, various programs conflicting with each other, causing sparks to fly from all over her body.
But Nebula's fury couldn't change reality; she didn't have the Reality Stone.
Nebula saw the Thanos she both hated and admired with extreme intensity stand up, as if that cosmic tyrant had returned, but now he was standing by that man's side.
Thanos resisted in every way possible, refusing to yield, but he was ruthlessly ravaged by Du Wa using the power of the Infinity Stones countless times. In the end, even his mind and soul were brought under Du Wa's control.
"It doesn't matter if you resist me at every moment. I never care about such things. I only care about how much value you can bring me."
Du Wa was completely unconcerned by Thanos's behavior.
In any case, it wasn't as if none of his subordinates were single-mindedly plotting a rebellion; they just hadn't found the right opportunity or the correct means. He had more than one subordinate like this, and besides, Thanos wasn't even stationed in the same universe as those other schemers.
"A person like you, why would you need me?" Thanos sneered with a dark expression. "You are a God. Since when does a God need people to save them?"
"Gods do need people. Just look at the Celestials of this universe. Not a single one of them stood up to reset the entire universe like you planned, to redeem countless lives. Though, I believe they were just too lazy to do it, because it was rather meaningless. But I'm different. When I say I'll do something, I do my utmost to complete it. This universe has a certain value and is a very suitable springboard for me, so I am even more inclined to fulfill my promise."
With four Infinity Stones in hand, Du Wa soon stopped paying attention to Thanos. He turned to look at the group of superheroes huddled together, anxious and alert.
"I admire your courage, but unfortunately, you don't yet have the qualifications for me to personally recruit you. But don't be disheartened. In the days to come, you will have countless opportunities to choose. Even doing nothing will inevitably be the best choice to be on my side. However, before that…"
Du Wa extended a finger and pointed at one person among the Avengers.
"But what I'm more curious about is, a Skrull can also become one of Earth's Avengers?"
As soon as the words fell, Rhodey's face changed instantly, filled with boundless terror. Even though he tried to feign composure, faced with the terrifying Du Wa, he broke down on the spot.
He didn't even dare to resist and immediately reverted to his original form: a green-skinned Skrull.
"What??"
"What are Skrulls? Where's Rhodey?! Where did you hide Rhodey? When did you replace him?!"
"You're not actually War Machine? So the person who was telling us bad jokes… was actually you all this time?"
The Avengers were stunned once again, looking in disbelief at the completely green Skrull. It felt like their worldview was about to shatter. Where was the real Rhodey? For all these years, was the person who fought alongside them Rhodey or this green-skinned guy?
Du Wa smiled slightly, not intending to investigate how these Avengers would deal with the Skrulls who had secretly infiltrated Earth.
In fact, judging by the performance of the Skrulls in Universe 199999, their situation was quite the tragedy.
For decades, they had gone through life and death, their entire race serving as minions for Nick Fury, only hoping to obtain a habitat for the Skrulls on Earth, a territory that didn't even need to be very large.
Faced with the Asgardian refugees who had fled to Earth, Nick Fury, with a wave of his hand, arranged a small town for them to live in.
But when it came to the Skrulls, Nick Fury wouldn't spare a dime. He treated the shapeshifting race like disposable tools to be used until they were worked to death.
Du Wa had no intention of criticizing this universe's Nick Fury for his actions. From a political standpoint, it was hard to say whether it was right or wrong. After all, no matter how miserable the Asgardians were, they had Thor as their leader, a figure of formidable strength. The Skrulls, on the other hand, had nothing, so of course they were more easily deceived and enslaved.
In any case, regardless of how their interactions played out, the outcome for this universe would become completely unrecognizable, ultimately heading toward a future that belongs to the Xenomorphs.
"Next, I need to see where the limit of tolerance for the Gods of this universe lies… If I really expand with all my might, after annexing how many cosmic regions will I trigger those Gods to personally step in to obstruct, expel, or even eliminate me?"
Du Wa was very interested in where that limit lay.
Even a Creator God with countless avatars wouldn't just stand by and let the universe ruled by this one avatar of theirs change owners.
"I hope the local Gods have some manners and know what's good for them… Well then, I can begin my expansion in this universe."
He would definitely find a way to complete what he had promised this universe's Thanos.
For him, this wasn't a mission of principle anyway. As for the one to carry out the 'Universal Xenomorph Project,' that would naturally fall to Thanos. He figured Thanos would accept it with glee.
Du Wa glanced at Thanos, whose expression looked as if he'd eaten shit, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Next is to transport the first batch of Xenomorphs to this universe, to complete their localization here, and thus begin rapid reproduction."
Du Wa made his decision.
Uatu had seen everything that happened here.
He stood motionless before the Dimensional Barrier.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful! I have never seen such a spectacular Event in any universe. A larger Event has overwritten a past one, directly leading the entire universe in an unprecedented direction."
Uatu retracted his gaze with satisfaction. He had already recorded everything that happened here.
Without a doubt, if Uatu were to transmit this piece of history back to the Watchers, it would surely elicit surprise and praise from many other Watchers.
At this thought, Uatu's mood became extremely cheerful. After all, his Mission was to observe all sorts of rare, major events.
Such a spectacular Event had occurred in Universe 199999 that he was starting to lose interest in the major events unfolding in other universes.
The entire MCU system wasn't that large to begin with, and it was nothing compared to the entire multiverse. However, Uatu was currently only responsible for the universes of the MCU and was temporarily unable to enter the true multiverse for widespread observation.
Uatu observed the various major events in other universes. Scenes from many universes flashed before his eyes like movie trailers.
"Wait, something special seems to be happening on this universe's Earth… It's also undergoing an invasion by Thanos."
Out of sheer boredom, Uatu casually clicked open the view of a universe, observing it from a High Dimension.
He saw that this universe's Ultron fired an energy beam from the Mind Stone on his forehead, and with one move, split the Thanos who had just used the Space Stone to arrive on Earth in two, accomplishing the feat of an instant kill.
This Ultron even immediately picked up Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet, stripped off all the Infinity Stones, and fitted them onto his own hand.
It takes all sorts to make a world; the various ways Thanos died were also unexpected.
But this alone wasn't enough to make Uatu invest too much energy. He had originally planned to record this scene and then go observe other universes.
"It seems to be another universe where Thanos is defeated. But this universe doesn't give me any particular thrill, nowhere near as good as Universe 199999," Uatu muttered to himself. He was like a human who enjoys watching soap operas, enjoying the story from a god's-eye view while commenting on the plot.
And yet, against all odds, Ultron—now wielding all six Infinity Stones—heard every word.
"So that's how it is. My apologies if what I'm doing bores you. But luckily, I still have a chance to make amends, because I have already found you, hiding here… So there are more universes beyond this one."
Ultron abruptly turned his head, flew into the sky, and arrived in an empty space. His red-glowing eyes stared intently at the air in front of him, and across the Dimensional Barrier, the corners of his mouth curled into a chilling smile, making precise eye contact with Uatu.
It was like a character in a movie who, somehow, suddenly broke the fourth wall and made direct eye contact with the audience itself.
Uatu was aghast, immediately shutting down his observation.
"He's talking to me? It's not an illusion. He actually found me? How could this happen... It's fine, I pulled back immediately…"
(end of chapter)