Vision's Rebirth

On the far side of the moon, at the Plumbers Institute, a high-energy physics laboratory.

A tense atmosphere hung in the air, not only because the sophisticated instruments were running at full power, but also because Tony Stark and Hank Pym, two of the most intelligent rivals on Earth, were standing face to face, their eyes sparking with an energy brighter than the electrical arcs in the laboratory.

"So, the Tony Stark kid."

Hank Pym, dressed in a white lab coat and holding a data panel, looked at Tony with an air of smugness. "So you finally admit that the applications of Pym Particles at the microscopic level are unmatched by your Arc Reactor?"

"Come on, old man."

Tony rolled his eyes. Although he was impressed by the technological level of the base, he refused to admit defeat. "If Jiang Li hadn't given you the alien blueprints from the Plumbers, you'd probably still be talking to ants in your basement in San Francisco. Besides, my nanotech armor has already mastered quantum folding technology. Want me to give you a crash course?"

"That's cheating! That's alien technology!" Pym was so angry his mustache stood on end.

"Alright, you two geniuses."

Jiang Li's voice interrupted this cross-century verbal sparring. He pointed to Vision, who was lying on the experimental table with his head covered in various probes and fiber optic cables.

"We're here to rescue people, not to hold a debate. How is Vision?"

Beside her, Shuri (Wakanda genius specially invited by the Plumbers), who had been busy all along, wiped the sweat from her forehead, her expression solemn.

"The situation is complicated, Your Excellency Jiang Li."

Shuri pointed to the neuronal structure diagram on the holographic projection, a complex golden maze that made one dizzy. "The Mind Stone has completely fused with Vision's Vibranium cells. If we forcibly separate them, his consciousness will collapse instantly. We need to separate two trillion neuronal nodes layer by layer without severing neural connections... At the current computing power, it will take at least three months."

"Three months?" Captain America frowned, looking out the window at Earth. "Thanos might be here within three days."

"That's a dead end." Tony stared at the data, his brow furrowed, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Unless we can rewrite Vision's underlying logic code instantly, but the computational demands... even JARVIS and Friday combined couldn't do it."

"What's needed isn't computational power, it's brains."

Jiang Li suddenly spoke, glancing at Omnitrix with a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Three months is too long. I'm in a hurry."

"Omnitrix, switch forms— Grey Matter!"

A flash of green light.

Instead of any ferocious beasts, Jiang Li's figure shrank, becoming a small alien, only the size of a palm, with gray skin, large eyes, and wearing a black and white jumpsuit.

He nimbly jumped onto the experimental table and stood next to Vision's forehead.

"What is this?" Shuri looked at the little guy in surprise. "Is this also an alien hero? He looks... so weak."

"Never judge a book by its cover, Your Highness."

Jiang Li, transformed into Grey Matter, let out a high-pitched voice, but his large eyes gleamed with wisdom. "Although the brain capacity of the Galvan is not large, the speed of our neural synapse connections is billions of times faster than that of Earthlings."

After saying that, Jiang Li (Grey Matter) stretched out his tiny fingers and began to frantically tap on Shuri's control panel.

His hands moved so fast they left afterimages; the code on the holographic screen flowed like a waterfall. The complexity of the code's logic was so great that even Tony and Shuri felt their brains overloaded just by looking at it.

Tony leaned closer and his eyes widened. "Wait... this is... Multi-Dimensional Neuron Reconstruction Algorithm? He's rewriting Vision's operating system using a logic language I've never seen before!"

"Not only that," Hank Pym exclaimed, adjusting his glasses, "He's using the quantum state of Pym Particles to simultaneously dissociate the microstructure of the gemstone... multitasking? No, this is multitasking!"

"Is this... the wisdom of the most intelligent race in the entire universe?"

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the progress bar, which was originally expected to take three months, began to rise at a visible speed.

10%...50%...90%...

Only five minutes had passed.

"Done."

Grey Matter pressed the last Enter key and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.

"A scalpel." He held out his hand.

Wanda, who had been staring in disbelief, instinctively handed him a laser scalpel.

The Grey Matter took the knife, precisely pierced the Vibranium shell on Vision's forehead, and gently flicked it away.

bite.

The Mind Stone, shimmering with yellow light, fell off intact and was caught in the hands of Grey Matter.

As Vision lay on the lab table, his originally red and yellow skin instantly faded, turning a technologically advanced grayish-white. The light in his eyes dimmed for a moment, but then—

Buzz!

A blue stream of data flashed by, and Vision reopened his eyes. Although the brilliance of the gem was gone, his gaze remained clear, rational, and even more profound than before.

"How are you feeling, Vision?" Wanda gripped his hand tightly, as if afraid he had turned into an emotionless machine.

"It's different now..." Vision sat up, looking at his hands, a newfound ease in his voice. "Before, I always felt a voice in my head, the will of the gems. Now... it's quiet. I feel like I finally belong entirely to myself."

He turned to Wanda, a gentle smile on his face, "And I still love you."

"Thank you, Jiang Li." Vision looked at the little alien who hadn't turned back into its original form.

"Don't be shy, remember to pay the surgery fee. It's not expensive, just help Plumbers clean for a month afterward."

With a flash of green light, Jiang Li transformed back into human form, tossing the Mind Stone in his hand.

Jiang Li casually tossed the Mind Stone into a specially made Anti-Energy Suppression Box. This box was made using Upgrade's technology and could completely isolate the energy fluctuations of the Infinity Stones.

"Now, the gem and the person are separated."

Jiang Li looked around at everyone, his expression turning serious.

"Vision will remain at the Moon Base to recuperate. It's the safest place in the entire universe."

"As for this gem..." Jiang Li shook the box in his hand, "It will be the final grand gift we prepare for Thanos."

"You want to bring it back to Earth?" Captain America immediately understood Jiang Li's intention, "As bait?"

"That's right."

Jiang Li nodded and tapped the holographic map with his finger.

That location is a hidden place on the Africa continent.

"New York has too many people, it's not a good place to maneuver. We need a spacious, fortified location with enough troops to wear down Thanos's army."

Wakanda

Shuri looked at the map, a glint of fighting spirit flashing in her eyes. "Brother (T'Challa the Black Panther) has gathered all the warriors of the tribes. Wakanda's energy shield is the strongest on Earth."

"Very good."

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Li's eyes.

"Then let's set it for Wakanda."

"Thanos wants the Infinity Stones? Let him come and get them. But this time, he won't only face the Avengers, but also the Plumbers, and..."

Jiang Li glanced at the special icon on the Omnitrix that was about to cool down—it was his ultimate trump card for the final battle, the next stage of fusion evolution.

"Gwen, inform King T'Challa that we're going to freeload off him. Also, tell him to prepare plenty of Vibranium; I need to Upgrade Captain America and Tony's gear."

"Receive."

With the portal reopening, the Avengers (the Plumbers' Guild) officially embarked on their journey to Wakanda.

Meanwhile, on the distant Vormir...

On the desolate edge of the cliff, the Red Skull floated in the air, looking at the tall, purple figure before him.

Thanos dragged Gamora up the steps of the sacrifice. There were no tears in his eyes, only endless indifference and determination.

He was willing to sacrifice everything for destiny.

Including his beloved daughter.

With a mournful thud, an orange vortex rose in the sky.

When Thanos awoke again, he had an orange gem emitting an eerie glow on his right hand.

Soul Stone

"Four now."

Thanos clenched his fist, feeling the power that could control Soul Stone. He looked towards the distant starry sky, in the direction of Earth.

"Just you wait, Earthlings!"