Sokovia.
Hong Fei had gathered every member of the Superpower Foundation.
But when he saw Peter trying hard to suppress his excitement, he frowned. "Why are you here?"
Peter froze, then stood up. "I'm a member of the Superpower Foundation too."
"Didn't I say Peter Parker was excluded?"
"You didn't..."
Big Head abruptly shot to his feet. "The boss said it. I forgot to write it down. My sincerest apologies."
Peter was utterly stunned.
The others, however, were used to it.
Then Peter looked at Hong Fei with watery eyes, his young face full of pleading.
Hong Fei thought for a moment.
"Don't let it happen again. Sit down."
"Yes!" Peter immediately perked up, full of energy.
As everyone turned their eyes toward him, Hong Fei began to speak.
"I'll keep it brief. I called you here because a catastrophic event affecting ordinary life throughout the universe is about to occur. You will be the only group from Earth—and perhaps the entire universe—to venture into deep space and fight the enemy in a battle of life and death. If you win, everyone in the universe will have to thank you. If you lose, no one will have the right to condemn or denounce you, but among the half of all life that disappears from Earth, there may be members of your families."
At this, everyone immediately grew serious.
Yet Hong Fei smiled.
"All right, that was the official statement. I wanted everyone to know, as quickly as possible, what the Superpower Foundation is about to do."
Big Head immediately agreed. "No problem!"
Hong Fei added, "The truth is, everything I just said is true. The other side will wipe out half of all life in the universe using six Infinity Stones, three of which could be considered gifts from me."