Deep within the forests of North Arica, everything appeared peaceful.
Then ca the thunder.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The sound grew louder with every passing second, rolling across the wilderness like distant storm clouds.
Yet the sky remained clear.
White clouds drifted lazily overhead, and not a hint of bad weather could be seen.
The source of the noise wasn't the heavens.
It was the creature erging from the jungle.
A colossal beast.
Each step struck the earth with trendous force, producing a deafening boom that echoed for miles.
The giant asured roughly twenty ters in length.
Its neck alone stretched nearly eight ters, longer than much of its body.
Its tail extended another nine ters behind it.
Standing on all fours, its hips rose approximately four and a half ters above the ground.
When it reared upward, however, it seed to tower into the sky itself.
Any paleontologist who saw it would imdiately recognize it.
A Brontosaurus.
The dinosaur's enormous tail sliced through the air with enough force to create explosive cracks comparable to artillery fire.
Above the forest canopy, enormous pterosaurs glided through the skies.
Their wingspans exceeded eleven ters.
Massive shadows drifted across the landscape below.
This was Earth.
Or rather, Earth after Drex Valen had rebuilt it.
He had altered the atmosphere, restored fossils preserved within geological strata, and even reversed ti around certain remains to reconstruct long-extinct species.
The result was a thriving prehistoric world.
Dinosaurs road freely across every continent.
At the sa ti, saber-toothed cats, mammoths, and countless modern species also existed alongside them.
Every creature that had ever lived on Earth now shared a single ecosystem.
Only one species was missing.
Humans.
The surviving Avengers remained hidden beneath the surface, still struggling to survive in their underground shelters.
None of them had any idea what the planet above had beco.
As far as they knew, the wasteland still existed.
Drex had also crushed the four Infinity Stones he brought with him.
Once removed from their native universe, they had beco little more than ordinary gemstones.
And considering that universe had likely already been destroyed by Abraxas, they had no further value.
The Infinity Stones of this reality were a different matter.
Ultimate Ultron possessed the Mind Stone.
The Ti Stone, however, was nowhere to be found.
Drex found that particularly strange.
This universe didn't appear to have Kamar-Taj at all.
Without Kamar-Taj, there was no Ancient One.
Without the Ancient One, there was no Ti Stone.
As for the Space Stone, that one remained in Asgard.
At the mont, Drex was treating Earth like the world's most advanced map editor.
Only unlike a strategy ga, there were no population limits.
No restrictions.
No warnings.
No resource caps.
He had created a million Brontosauruses simply because they represented an enormous source of mobile at.
The other species numbered in the tens of thousands.
After all, once they existed, reproduction would take care of the rest.
As for whether Earth's resources could sustain such a ridiculous ecosystem...
Drex wasn't concerned.
Resource shortages only existed for people incapable of converting matter and energy at will.
He had mastered that trick a very long ti ago.
"So?"
Drex turned toward Black Queen.
Unlike the rest of the group, he hadn't spent all his ti redesigning Earth.
He had actual work to do.
Earlier, he had torn open a black hole and ordered Black Queen to throw an Ultron unit through it as a test.
Now he wanted the results.
Black Queen looked genuinely surprised.
"The Ultron vanished instantly."
That answer caught Drex's attention.
Black Queen rarely sounded surprised.
She considered Ultimate Ultron's technology primitive compared to Kryptonian science, especially after gaining access to the knowledge Drex had shared with her.
Even so, those robots were constructed from Adamantium.
Destroying one instantly wasn't sothing most worlds could accomplish.
"What kind of universe was on the other side?"
Black Queen shook her head.
"I couldn't gather enough data."
Far beyond Earth.
Far beyond the Solar System.
In a distant corner of the cosmos stood a planet that looked as though it belonged in a science-fiction epic.
At the center of a vast palace sat a golden throne.
Upon that throne rested a towering alien clad in gleaming golden armor.
His skin possessed a blue-purple hue.
His chin was marked by deep vertical ridges.
Even the Hulk would have appeared smaller beside him.
The sheer authority radiating from his presence made it difficult to et his gaze.
He sat motionless.
Yet countless civilizations feared him.
Feared him.
Obeyed him.
Worshiped him.
He was Thanos.
The Eternal Titan.
Master of vast cosmic empires.
A ruler whose influence stretched across the stars.
"My Lord."
Five figures knelt before the throne, their bodies concealed beneath dark robes.
"The Chitauri have lost the Stone. Shall we exterminate their species?"
Thanos opened his eyes.
His expression remained calm.
"It matters little."
"I never placed much faith in them."
He leaned slightly forward.
"Nevertheless, rewards and punishnts must be balanced."
"Failure carries consequences."
"From this day forward, the Chitauri will no longer enjoy my protection."
"Let them survive or perish on their own."
The five kneeling servants imdiately lowered their heads.
"Your rcy knows no bounds, my Lord."
"We shall carry out your will."
Thanos gazed toward the stars.
"There are still other Stones scattered throughout the universe."
"It is ti to gather them once again."
"Should we take a look?"
Drex asked casually.
One arm rested around Tifa's waist.
To his surprise, the woman continued finding ways to exceed expectations.
There were so mysteries, he decided, that even x-ray vision failed to fully prepare a man for.
Nearby, Lyra Yan and Clare were busy enjoying a hotpot filled with freshly prepared Brontosaurus at.
Neither seed particularly interested in the discussion.
Esdeath, however, looked intrigued.
"We should investigate."
A dangerous smile crossed her face.
"If there are enemies on the other side, let handle them first."
She had been growing restless.
It had been far too long since her last real battle.
Recently, she had even tried convincing Drex to establish another Kryptonian Empire sowhere in the Multiverse purely so she could have sothing entertaining to do.
Drex had refused.
There was little point building an empire if they might leave the universe at any mont.
After a mont's thought, he nodded.
Esdeath had a point.
Even he was getting tired of eating Brontosaurus hotpot.
"Fine."
"Let's see what's out there."
He tore open a black hole.
Then stepped through with Esdeath.
Bzzzzzt!
Blue arcs of electricity crackled through empty space.
Ripples spread across reality like waves across liquid rcury.
A battered figure stumbled out of the dinsional passage.
"Hot!"
"Seriously hot!"
Drex imdiately regretted stepping through.
That was his first impression.
Heat.
Unimaginable heat.
It felt as though he had walked directly into the heart of a furnace.
Every inch of his body seed to be roasting.
For a brief mont, he wondered if he'd accidentally opened a portal into so cosmic version of Hell.
Yet despite the overwhelming temperature, there were no signs of dehydration.
His clothing remained intact.
His body showed no damage whatsoever.
Then a wave of cold swept over him.
The contrast felt incredible.
Drex took a deep breath and finally looked around.
Space.
Endless space.
Stars glittered in every direction.
Countless points of light illuminated the darkness.
And among them all, one star stood out above the rest.
Bright.
Warm.
Familiar.
The Sun.
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