MCIM Ch. 146

The plaza on Endstar materialized around them in a flash of light. Wanda and Quicksilver stood frozen. Spacecraft zipped through the air like cars on a highway.

Mario just smiled. Anyone coming from Earth reacted the same way the first time. Everything on Endstar looked like it had been ripped straight from a science fiction movie and made real.

To beings like Thanos, Rocket, or the Ravagers, this was just another city. The universe had thousands of them. Rocket had complained the first time he'd seen Endstar, calling it "embarrassingly basic" compared to some of the mega-cities out there.

"Alright, stop gawking. You'll have plenty of time to sightsee later."

Mario's voice snapped them back to reality. "I'll have someone show you around in a minute."

He pulled out a communicator and pressed a button. "Banner, I've brought you some new recruits. Come give them a proper welcome."

The words had barely left his mouth when a green figure appeared on the horizon, growing rapidly larger as it approached.

BOOM.

He glanced down at the shattered flagstones beneath Hulk's feet and sighed. "Hulk, why are you out already? Isn't today supposed to be your lab day, not your arena day?"

Hulk wore a white medical lab coat. It was specially made, so at least it wasn't torn to shreds.

At Mario's question, Hulk clutched his stomach with an expression of pure tragedy. "Hulk... hungry."

GRRRROWL.

The sound of Hulk's stomach could probably be heard from orbit.

Mario pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course you are."

Ever since Banner had gained better control over the Hulk transformation, his appetite had become monstrous. Every mealtime, Hulk came out to do the eating. He was seriously starting to think Banner was trying to eat him into bankruptcy.

Shaking his head helplessly, he turned to Quicksilver and Wanda. "You two probably haven't eaten either. Go with Hulk to the cafeteria."

He looked at Hulk and added, "Take them to get food. And try not to scare them too badly."

Quicksilver stared at Hulk's bulging muscles, at arms so thick that one of them was wider than his own torso. In that moment, he felt his superhuman speed was completely useless. He really didn't think his fists could even dent that green hide. And getting hit by one of those massive hands? The image was too terrifying to contemplate.

He swallowed hard and looked at Mario. "I can take good care of Wanda myself."

Mario said nothing, only flashing a smile. He waved at Hulk. "Take them."

"HULK!"

Hulk reached out with one hand and wrapped it completely around Wanda's waist, lifting her off the ground like she weighed nothing. Mario was certain now that Hulk had grown even larger. The cafeteria food must be seriously good.

Quicksilver tried to dodge, his speed kicking in automatically. But a translucent barrier suddenly enveloped him, and his velocity dropped to that of an ordinary human. He stumbled directly into Hulk's other hand.

Mario tucked his staff away with a satisfied smile. "This is really handy."

Gripping Wanda and Quicksilver securely, Hulk launched into the sky, disappearing from view as Wanda's scream echoed across the plaza.

Tony walked over with an exasperated expression. "You're going to traumatize them."

"Good food fixes everything. If one meal doesn't do it, we'll feed them another."

Mario turned to Vision and Scarlet Witch. "Vision, go see Ivan about getting some maintenance. Your vibranium body can't keep up with current specs anymore. Vibranium may be durable, but nanotech can transform, you know..."

Vision immediately replied, "Transform? I have no idea what you're talking about. I simply want to improve my capabilities to help you."

Mario gave him a look, then left the plaza with Tony following behind.

Using a waystone, they transported to one of the lifeless planets that Yondu had helped locate. This was one of the six worlds suitable for potential colonization, though "suitable" was being generous. The environment was harsh. The atmosphere was breathable but unpleasant, the ground was barren, and the only visible life was a strange fungus-like growth that covered the soil. He had already confirmed this wasn't some kind of living planet.

"Let's do it here."

Mario surveyed the desolate landscape. No witnesses or collateral damage, plenty of open space.

Tony kept his Iron Man armor sealed. The atmospheric composition wasn't immediately lethal to humans, but thirty minutes of exposure would knock him unconscious. Better safe than sorry. Seeing Mario pull a golden cube out of thin air, he didn't even blink anymore. He'd long since given up trying to understand Mario's abilities through conventional science. There were no energy signatures or spatial distortions. It was more mysterious than the Infinity Stones.

"Are you sure this thing tests luck?"

Mario pulled several totems of undying and teleportation scrolls out of his inventory. He handed them to Tony.

"Take these first. They're some of my most valuable treasures."

Tony accepted the totems with confusion written all over his face. He'd never seen these before and had no idea what they did. As he examined them, he noticed Mario had already drawn his staff and shield, fully prepared for combat.

"What exactly—"

"Just test your luck, Tony. It's simple. Tap that golden block with your hand."

Tony took a deep breath. The situation was clearly more dangerous than Mario had initially implied. But there was no backing out now. At the very least, with Mario around, he definitely wouldn't die.

He raised his hand and began tapping the Lucky Block.

CRACK.

The Lucky Block vanished instantly, replaced by a massive structure made entirely of colored wool blocks. The sudden transformation startled him so badly he jumped backward.

"Shit!"

After his heart stopped trying to escape his chest, he cautiously approached the giant Lucky Block. Looking at the enormous wool structure, a question popped into his mind: How did something that huge even appear from nowhere?

Before he could think further, Mario's voice rang out. "Not bad! There's a lever on it. Pull it."

Tony spotted the protruding lever and flew closer. He took another deep breath and yanked it down.

BZZZZT.

An electric whip crackling with white lightning materialized and lashed across his armor.

Below, Mario's jaw dropped. "Holy shit, it's the Whiplash Mark I?!"

The appearance of Ivan's original Whiplash armor caught Tony completely off guard. The sudden attack sent him reeling backward, electric energy crackling across his suit's surface.

"Hey, Ivan, have you lost your mind?"

Tony easily broke free from the electric whips. He was confused. If Ivan wanted to spar, he would never wear this prototype. He'd show up with his entire legion.

Dodging the Whiplash armor's attacks, he found himself somewhat restrained. He didn't want to destroy what might be Ivan's property.

"What's that red bar above your head? Some kind of new tech?"

Holding up his shield and watching the show, Mario burst out laughing. "You've played video games before, right? That's its health bar. Stop holding back and take it down!"

Tony froze mid-dodge, looked up at the crimson bar floating above the Whiplash armor's head. "I should have realized..."

An energy beam struck the Whiplash armor, knocking it back a step. A red "-22" damage number popped up above its head before fading.

"This is surreal. It's exactly like playing a game..."

His voice trailed off as he thought of Mario's abilities. Does Mario possess the power of games? Or in his eyes, are all worlds just game scenarios, and all people NPCs?

Even as his mind raced with philosophical questions, his hands didn't slow. Energy beams and micro-missiles hammered into the Whiplash armor.

The 500 HP bar depleted rapidly. With a final POOF, the armor transformed into white smoke and vanished. But it left a glowing item floating where the armor had been. He flew over and discovered it was an electric whip, identical to the ones that had just been attacking him.

"Is this... a loot drop?"

He picked up the whip, examining it from every angle. There was nothing special about it, just an ordinary electric whip. He'd made dozens of these while analyzing Ivan's attacks.

Holding the whip, he flew back to Mario. "I thought you said this tested luck. What was with that armor?"

Mario shrugged. "I don't know either. That's why I had you test it. But looking at the results, your luck's not bad. At least you got a weapon."

Tony threw the whip on the ground in frustration. "Good thing I was wearing armor. If that surprise attack had hit me unprotected, you'd be attending my funeral."

"It just looks dangerous. You think the stuff I gave you was decoration?"

Tony looked again at the strange items in his hands. Now he understood why Mario had suddenly loaded him up with protection. He was being used as a guinea pig.

"Why didn't you test it yourself? This kind of danger should be easy for you."

Mario tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky.

"I don't trust my own luck."

He pulled a bed from his inventory and placed it nearby. Then he walked back to where Tony had opened his Lucky Block and placed another one on the ground.

"Font of Vitality, Diamondflesh, Greater Ward, Satiety..."

A series of buffs stacked onto his body, each one adding another layer of protection. Then he raised his hand and tapped the Lucky Block.

After just a few hits, the Lucky Block activated. He immediately felt a chill run down his spine, as if something terrible was about to happen.

CRACK-BOOM.

A bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck him without any warning whatsoever. The lightning completely ignored his quantum armor, all his buffs, every protection he'd layered on.

WHAM.

His body flashed red, and he fell flat on his back. Tony's eyes widened in shock.

"MARIO!"

He immediately rocketed forward, rushing toward where Mario had fallen. But before he could reach him, Mario's body dissolved into smoke and dispersed.

Then Tony heard Mario's furious, exasperated voice from behind him.

"I knew it! Goddamn Lucky Block exists solely to screw people over."

Tony whipped around and saw Mario sitting on the bed he'd placed earlier.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Mario quickly stood up, pulled out another Lucky Block, and marched back to the spot where he'd been struck by lightning.

"Screw this. I refuse to believe it."

He placed the Lucky Block on the ground. This time, he didn't even bother with buffs. If it was a code-level instant kill, protective magic wouldn't help anyway.

"Come on. I don't believe you can hit me twice in a row..."

Staring intensely at the Lucky Block, he raised his hand and knocked on it.

CRACK.

The Lucky Block opened, replaced by a massive burst of fireworks that exploded directly in his face.

POP-POP-POP-CRACK-BANG.

Enduring the fireworks assault, he rushed through the explosion and grabbed the item that had dropped on the ground. His face shifted from annoyance to disbelief.

"Holy shit!"

It's the Time Stone? Even in a modded version, it can drop something like this?

He suddenly felt that getting struck by lightning earlier was perfectly justified. It was all just setup for the Time Stone.

In the distance, Tony saw the massive fireworks display and heard Mario's excited shout. He immediately flew toward the stunned Mario and saw the glowing green gem.

Unable to accept what he was seeing, he asked, "This Infinity Stone was also inside one of those blocks?"

Mario nodded emphatically. Just this single Time Stone was worth the entire stack of Lucky Blocks and more.

Receiving Mario's confirmation, Tony immediately perked up, his expression turning serious. "I think it's necessary to conduct extensive testing. We need to see what else might be inside these things."