MARVEL's Avengers: Infinity War: The Cosmic Quest, Volume 2

by Brandon T. Snider

  Selvig rushed to the exit, turning back to look at the chaos that had unfolded. On the balcony above, Bixby stared daggers. He was still, silent. The look on Bixby’s face gave Selvig a sense of accomplishment.

  “Go!” Darcy yelled, pushing Selvig out the door. “Reflect later!” The group ran down the driveway as fast as they could, out of breath as they reached the end.

  “The cops are going to be here soon,” Felix said.

  “Where’s your transportation, Erik?” asked Jane. The panicked look in Selvig’s eyes answered her question. There was no transportation. “Great.”

  CHUCKA-CHUCKA-CHUCKA-CHUCKA-CHUCKA-CHUCKA.

  A Tomahawk helicopter roared onto the scene, ominously hovering above.

  Felix tried his best not to freak out. “We’re done,” he said, sweating. “I’m gonna end up in some kind of kid’s prison where I have to fight my way through a preteen gang hierarchy, trading candy bars for potato chips, learning how to strangle people with my bare hands. All my dreams… my whole future… done!”

  “Cool it, drama queen,” Darcy said.

  A rope ladder fell from the helicopter as a disembodied voice called out from inside. “C’mon! We don’t have all day!”

  Felix, Darcy, Jane, and Selvig were out of options. There was only one place to go, and that was up. They swiftly ascended into the helicopter to find Anjelica Tan, Anoki, and Bisi Banyaga waiting.

  “Surprise!” Banyaga exclaimed gleefully. “Timing is everything.”

  Selvig was stunned, surprised, and incredibly thankful to be safe.

  “Take a minute, catch your breath, and then we’ll discuss business,” Anoki said. “But also buckle up—we’re going to Norway.”

  “This is all happening so fast!” Felix shrieked.

  Banyaga cackled from the pilot’s seat, thoroughly entertained by Felix’s outburst.

  Anjelica Tan put her arm around Felix as if they were best buds. “We’re going to the Water of Sight, kid,” she said. “Hope you brought your swim trunks.”

  Darcy raised her hand. “Whose helicopter is this?”

  Tan pointed at Anoki, who was hovering near Banyaga, helping guide the craft.

  Darcy shook her head. “More of that sweet off-the-grid living, huh?”

  “I’m not going to apologize for owning a helicopter,” Anoki said. “Without it you’d all be running through the Hollywood Hills like insane people. Be grateful that Bisi, Anjelica, and I knew enough about Erik to put this plan in motion and save your collective rear ends.”

  “Foster!” Tan exclaimed. She grabbed Jane, looked her in the face, and gave her a tight squeeze. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I knew you were out there somewhere, doing your thing.” She leaned in close to Jane’s ear, whispering covertly. “Erik was kind of a mess without you. Next time you leave town, give the guy a heads-up, huh?”

  Anoki pointed to Jane’s jacket. “You’ve got a spot of slime on your person,” they said. “Please clean it off. I like to keep this vehicle spotless.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Jane said, wiping away the goo.

  Selvig sat in the corner of the craft, clutching the Crescent tightly, inspecting its bits with care and consideration. He was relieved to see his old friends, and grateful for the save, but he also feared what was in store for them once they reached their destination. Learning the existence of the Infinity Stones and their role in the universe was a game changer. While he experienced some level of comfort in knowing the truth, new questions arose. Dangerous uncertainties lay ahead. Accessing the Water of Sight was a great risk, but would it truly pay off? Selvig wasn’t sure yet. Either way, there was definitely no turning back now.

  Darcy sat down next to Selvig. “Can we get a helicopter?” she said, nudging his shoulder. “It’s obvious we need one. For science.”

  Selvig wasn’t in the mood to talk. He was in his own head. His mind was consumed with the numerous scenarios they might face.

  “We’re doing this now, boss. The wheels are in motion,” Darcy said. “Don’t worry. Be happy?”

  “Everyone out!” Banyaga shouted. He’d abruptly landed the helicopter at a private airstrip. “Grab your gear and get moving. Times a-wastin’.”

  Tan picked up two large duffel bags and swung them over her shoulder. “I assumed we’d need those Gravimetric Spikes of yours. I kept them in a cool, dry place. Should be in tip-top condition. Phase Meter is in here, too.”

  Felix lagged behind as the group exited the craft. “Ummmm. I thought we were going to the Water of Sight.”

  “Boy, you can’t fly a helicopter from California to Norway,” Banyaga said. “We’re taking that.” He pointed to a sleek, black supersonic jet parked on the jetway. “All right, team, grab your gear and get on that plane. Norway awaits.”

  The team piled into the craft and settled into their seats.

  “We’ll need to fasten the Crescent to the Gravimetric Spikes,” said Selvig. “The configuration will function as a conductor, absorbing the output of energy from the Water of Sight, refocusing it through the Spikes themselves, and ultimately opening an Einstein-Rosen bridge.”

  “No one told me to dress for space travel,” Darcy said.

  “If my theory is correct, this specific bridge won’t allow for interstellar travel. Instead, it will become a galactic communication conduit,” explained Selvig. “Make no mistake, the Water of Sight is an unknown quantity. Assigning it this kind of scientific context is difficult though not impossible. What we are embarking upon is dangerous. Untested. We must all be aware of the stakes.”

  “Theories get proven every single day,” Banyaga said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m okay with getting sucked into a space portal if it means breaking some new ground. Science is sacrifice, right? Somebody write that down for me.”

  Jane carefully unveiled the Gravimetric Spikes. “These will need to be reconfigured a bit.” She took them into her hands, looking them over closely. “I can make that happen, but I’ll need some help.”

  Banyaga swung a heavy backpack onto the floor. It was overflowing with an array of unique tools. “These should serve your purpose,” he said. “Be kind to my babies. Some are homemade. Handle them with the utmost care, and, please, use them wisely.”

  Felix pointed at the Crescent. “May I see? I promise not to break it.” Selvig handed him the device. He looked it over, every nook and cranny. “The Water of Sight showed Thor visions, so we know it has the capacity to show us visions, too. I think I know how.”

  Jane handed him a Gravimetric Spike. “Let’s see what you can do, kid.”

  As Felix got to work, Tan filled with nostalgia for past adventures. “This reminds me of the time—”

  “No. Uh-uh, Anjelica Tan. This is not story time. This is focus on the task at hand time,” Banyaga said. “I’m already exhausted.”

  “Silence!” shouted Anoki. “Let Jane and Felix do their work. This flight is shorter than you think. We’ll arrive in Oslo, where a vehicle is waiting to transport us to Tønsberg as quickly as possible.”

  Tan leaned over to Darcy, speaking out of the side of her mouth. “Ian quit on me. Just thought you might want to know,” she whispered. “I don’t know what you said to him but thank you. Said he wasn’t living up to his potential. Saved me the trouble of firing him. Wasn’t the brightest bulb, that Ian. Sweet as pie, though.”

  Darcy was surprised by the unexpected news. “That’s interesting.”

  “What about you?” Tan asked. “I get the sense you’re kind of over this stuff.”

  “Good eye,” Darcy said, exhaling. “After this is over, I think I might be out.”

  Tan leaned close to Darcy so no one else could hear. “I’m not about telling other people how to live their lives, but we both know you’re too valuable to Erik’s outfit to leave just yet. Believe me. The world is an increasingly dangerous place. It needs you.”

  “Don’t start with the glue stuff again.”

  “Darcy, as a scientist you
have a duty to uphold—”

  “I’m not a scientist.”

  “Oh. Huh. Well, I don’t know how I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t matter now. You’re observant. You’ve picked up a few skills over the years. Obviously, you know how to manage egos and navigate tricky communications between unruly individuals. Take all that knowledge and put it to use in a new way. Reinvent yourself. I did. Think of this as the beginning of the rest of your life.”

  “At this moment in time, I’m going to concentrate on not dying.”

  Selvig sidled up to Banyaga, trying to play it cool but falling short. “Which one of you organized this rescue mission? How did you know we’d require your assistance?”

  “I’m psychic,” Banyaga deadpanned. “You wear your intentions on your sleeve, Erik. Anjelica, Anoki, and I saw this coming a mile away. You should be thankful we have a phone tree for these kinds of things. One calls the other and so on until we’re all in a helicopter coming to save your butt. We’re the Science Avengers now. Think of the uniforms and get on board!”

  The Science Avengers. An idea like that usually made Selvig uncomfortable. However, this time, surrounded by his closest comrades, it didn’t sound so unappealing.

  Anoki lingered near Jane and Felix as they tinkered with the Gravimetric Spikes.

  “Wanna help?” asked Felix. “Or are you just going to stand there judging my technique?”

  “You’re too young to have technique,” Anoki replied. “I’m realizing that I miss these get-togethers more than I thought I would. Isolating oneself in nature can be great for clearing one’s head… but it’s also very boring.”

  “I understand the feeling,” Jane said, adjusting the frequency of her Phase Meter. “It’s good to be surrounded by friends.”

  The flight to Oslo was smooth, and the drive to Tønsberg was quick. Anoki had planned their transportation down to a tee. The Water of Sight was located in a cavern outside the city’s center in a secluded area that locals knew to avoid. The people of Tønsberg had learned their lessons. Hydra’s theft of the Tesseract during the World War II invasion taught them that toying with powers they didn’t understand simply wasn’t worth the trouble. Selvig led his team through the forest on foot, arriving at the cavern in the middle of the night. They carefully filed into the subterranean space and surrounded the motionless pool. It was ordinary—lifeless—one might say. Selvig gazed deeply into the docile waters, mesmerized by the view.

  “Wake up,” commanded Anoki. “We didn’t come all this way so you could stare at your little space bathtub all night. Chop-chop. There’s work to do.”

  Jane set up the Gravimetric Spikes while Felix adjusted the Crescent. He made doubly sure it was well fastened so as not to vibrate out of position during the event. Jane held her Phase Meter in the air, waving it around in all directions. “I’m not picking up any activity,” she said. “It’s like a dead zone, which is… odd.”

  “That device was sitting in storage for a while. Maybe it’s out of juice?” suggested Tan.

  Jane wasn’t convinced. “It should work just fine. I upgraded it on the way here. Maybe this cave isn’t the cosmic nexus it once was.”

  The group looked at one another and then at Selvig. No one was sure what to do next.

  “Fire it up!” exclaimed Banyaga. “What’s wrong with you people?”

  The group positioned themselves behind a rocky column, safely away from the Water of Sight. The moment of truth had arrived. Selvig gave everyone a final warning before he flipped the switch. “There may be lightning. There may be static. We may tear through the fabric of reality. Be aware of your surroundings,” he cautioned.

  Felix was more than ready for action. “Let’s do this.” Using a remote control Jane had built in transit, he jolted each Spike with power, creating a gravity well above the pool. “And now for the final touch. This one’s for you, Mom and Dad.” He pressed the activation key, turning on the Crescent, which glowed bright white. The device released a low-pitched hum and was warm to the touch. Soon the air in the cave started vibrating. The Gravimetric Spikes shook uncontrollably. The apparatus was coming apart.

  “Shut it down!” Selvig shouted.

  Felix sheepishly ended the process as Jane assessed the damage. “The Spikes are too fragile.”

  “Just dial the whole thing down a notch,” Darcy said. “See? I can do science, too.”

  “The Crescent is complex,” Jane said. “Bisi, give it the Reverse Engineer once-over.”

  Banyaga took the Crescent into his hands, gently cracking it in half and assessing its insides. “There’s a massive amount of energy channeling through this thing. The Spikes can’t process it efficiently. That’s why everything is breaking apart. We need to absorb the output.”

  Felix reached into his pocket and produced the Kimoyo Bead he’d swiped from Anjelica’s bunker. “This should do the trick,” he said, showing off the small but powerful item. “At least, I think it should.”

  “Hey!” Tan exclaimed.

  Felix was deeply embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to steal it from you, I swear! It kind of just happened. Can I keep it, though?”

  “Beg later,” Banyaga said, pointing at the Crescent.

  Felix carefully shimmied the bead into the device, then reattached it to the Spike. “We’re good to go. The heat should dial down to a manageable level.” Despite having solved the issue, there was a sadness in Felix’s eyes.

  “Look alive,” nudged Banyaga. “You may have saved the day.”

  “Yeah, but…” Felix struggled to communicate what was really on his mind. “I lost the coolest thing I’ve ever owned in my entire life. Like, when am I ever going to get another piece of Wakanda? I mean a real piece of Wakanda. Life isn’t fair, man.”

  “Of course not. Life can be terrible! But let me tell you something, young man, there’s a future for you in this world,” Banyaga explained. “When all of this is over (which I hope is soon) we’re going to have a conversation. I’ll upgrade that bead, okay? Trust in Bisi.”

  “That’s my Kimoyo Bead you’re talking about,” Tan protested. “Stolen property.”

  “Stand back!” Selvig shouted. He pushed everyone away from the water’s edge as the team returned to their safe space. Felix activated the Crescent and the Gravimetric Spikes shook once more. Gusts of powerful wind swept through the cavern, stirring up dust and rock. Electricity danced across the Water of Sight, flickering like fireflies. The Spikes shook harder and harder. For a moment it looked as if they’d collapse completely until—

  BOOM!

  KRACK-A-THOOM!

  Suddenly, the chaos stopped. An eerie hum filled the cavern as the apparatus buzzed with electromagnetism. Above the Water of Sight, on the cavern ceiling, a wormhole slowly opened up and spread itself out across the space like a grand tapestry. Unlike a typical Einstein-Rosen bridge, this gateway wasn’t meant for traveling. It was a window into the unknown. The galaxy had opened up to reveal its insides. Brilliant stars pulsed across a pitch-black sky. It was the birth of existence. The dawn of the cosmos. The assembled team struggled to make sense of the chaotic beauty. Planets formed, before exploding into stardust. Six bold flashes of color appeared: red, blue, purple, green, yellow, and orange. The Infinity Stones blinked like holiday lights across a map of the stars. Its story unfolded like a silent movie.

  The Space Stone, too powerful for its own good, bounced from place to place until it settled into its containment vessel, giving birth to the Tesseract. The glowing blue cube changed hands through the centuries, traveling to Earth, falling into the hands of the Red Skull, becoming a pawn used by Loki, and eventually ending up in the possession of a mysterious purple-hued Titan. Though the assembled team was unaware of his identity, the universe knew him well. Thanos. In an instant, he disappeared, replaced by the bloodred glow of the Reality Stone. Once in the possession of Malekith and the Dark Elves, the mass of energy known as the Aether reached its creeping tentacles across the galaxy. As one
of its host bodies, Doctor Foster saw herself depicted in the assortment of images, if only for a brief moment. She was now part of cosmic history, whether she liked it or not. Next, a white-haired eccentric was shown begging for his life. The Collector, once the proud inheritor of the Reality Stone, had his prize taken from him by Thanos, who’d now become a recurring presence in universal history. Selvig made a mental note. Thanos’s face was one he vowed not to forget. Soon the cavern went dark, filling with a thin coating of mist. The Infinity Gauntlet emerged from within a cloud of smoke, reaching out for something to hold on to, but, instead, finding nothing. Frustrated, the golden glove snapped its fingers as beings across a thousand worlds turned to ash. Heroes, villains, alien beings from undiscovered worlds. Faces that were both familiar and strange. Heartbreaking images of pain and suffering blinked in and out like an old film strip. The sight was almost too much to bear. The dusty remains of the dead soon swirled into a cyclone that grew smaller and smaller until it twisted itself into a tiny amber pebble. It hung quivering in the air above the Water of Sight, coating the room in a warm orange light. The Soul Stone radiated a surprising sense of wholeness. Despite all they’d witnessed, the assembled group felt at ease. It was as if, at last, everything were going to be all right.

  Hurried footsteps rushed through the cavern’s entrance, crushing pebbles as they stomped. Ignatius Bixby was angry. “You don’t deserve this!” He swung a thick steel rod through the air, smashing the Gravimetric Spikes over and over again until they were damaged beyond repair. The portal quickly evaporated, and the images dissolved as if they’d never even appeared. The story of the Infinity Stones ended abruptly, never to return. Bixby made sure of that. He ripped the Crescent from its connection. “Stay! Away!” he screamed, wildly swinging the steel rod. “I invited all of you to my table and this is how you repay me?” He was out of breath and panting like a dog. “I assumed petty theft was beneath you, Erik, but I’m glad you played your hand just as I expected you would. Didn’t exactly expect it all to go down like this, but what do I know, anyway? I’m just some dummy who wants to be on TV, right?” He clutched the Crescent and held it close. “I had this baby built fairly quickly. Turned out nice, don’t you think? Erik’s concept. My execution. Match made in hell.” Bixby smashed the Gravimetric Spikes a final time. “I certainly don’t need those worthless things.” He opened a compartment on the underside of the Crescent and pressed a series of buttons. The device purred. “Fail-safe! Didn’t think of that, did you? Now I’m good to go.”