The Crisis Escalated Overnight

Tony grabbed Peter's arm, his expression changing. "What's this?"

The pattern and color were identical to those on Variant Thanos, the Chitauri soldiers, and the alien monsters he had brought. Tony had barely relaxed for two minutes before his nerves went taut again.

"Uh, it felt itchy, so I took off my suit to scratch it..." Peter looked pale. This was clearly nothing good.

Thinking of the monsters he had seen earlier made him even more afraid. Would he turn into one of them? Would Aunt May still recognize him?

At the same time, startled cries rose from different parts of the battlefield.

"Uh... my hand..." A Wakandan warrior stared at his arm, terror in his voice. Black-purple veins had appeared on it too.

"Me too!"

"And me!"

"What's going on?"

More and more people discovered the same Black-purple veins on their bodies. They appeared in different places—on arms, faces, even chests.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., scan and analyze them now!"

Tony put his MK85 armor back on, and several scanning drones split off from the suit and flew toward those showing symptoms.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. reported back almost immediately. "Sir, the scans found no abnormalities. The markings cannot be detected by the scanners. Possible explanations include..."

Most of F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s findings aside, the likeliest explanation was some kind of biological marker. The second was an unknown virus, though the instruments could detect no physical trace of it.

But judging by what they had seen so far, the markings appeared highly contagious.

"A virus?" Steve clenched his fists. They had only just dealt with Thanos, and now there was another problem? Even he, who could fight all day, felt exhausted.

"Lin, when you snapped, didn't you get rid of this too?" Tony turned to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi's face darkened. Staring at the markings on Peter's arm, he replied grimly, "When I used the Infinity Stones, I made it clear that I wanted Thanos' Army completely erased, along with the Black-purple veins on them and every threat or entity connected to those markings."

Lin Yi had gone over the wording twice in his head before snapping, afraid of leaving any loopholes.

"Then our suspicions may be right. I can sense a trace of the Dark Dimension in this thing..." Strange added.

That confirmation left Strange feeling even worse. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His Magic had no effect on the Black-purple veins either, and he could not tell what they were.

But that trace of the Dark Dimension, combined with what they had seen of Variant Thanos, was enough to tell him they were nothing good.

Lin Yi had never studied Magic and could not sense the Dark Dimension. He simply felt that the markings might be an even greater threat than Thanos.

They could not be there merely for decoration. If no one was reacting yet, the time probably had not come.

"What exactly is going on? Tony, can't your suit analyze it?"

Thor planted his axe on the ground. "Why not try another snap? It's my turn this time, isn't it?"

"Is that necessary? It's a little itchy, but otherwise I feel fine. Maybe I could try some medicine?" Peter looked at the somber faces around him and regretted speaking up.

Everyone had only just relaxed. They had not even had time to enjoy their victory before he ruined the mood.

"I don't recommend another snap," Strange objected at once. "Every large-scale use of the Infinity Stones causes unpredictable disturbances to the timeline."

"Lin Yi was explicit about what he wanted, yet the Black-purple veins weren't erased. They even spread to these people."

"The snap was supposed to set everything right, but now we have this unknown thing. If we snap again, who can guarantee something else won't appear?"

Silence fell. No one suspected Lin Yi had deliberately left the markings behind. Strange was right: if even the snap could not erase them, they might be a side effect of using the Six Infinity Stones. Otherwise, there was no explaining it.

The hope they had only just regained was swallowed by a deeper shadow.

For now, at least, the Black-purple veins seemed to cause nothing worse than itching. They had done no other tangible harm.

But judging by those monsters, the outlook was grim.

Steve stepped forward.

"Here's what we'll do. We'll postpone returning the Infinity Stones and put everything we have into finding a way to deal with these markings."

"We have one week. If we still have no answers by then, we'll... risk another snap. Whether it works or not, we'll return the stones to their respective timelines afterward!" Steve closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made his decision.

"Also, no one leaves this area for now. We need to put up a quarantine barrier in case this really is contagious, as Tony said."

"Tony, can you handle building it?"

Only Tony had the means to build something on that scale in such a short time.

Tony did not hesitate. F.R.I.D.A.Y. got to work and quickly produced several plans. Tony chose the fastest one. It would take all night.

"I'll search the database for anything useful..." Natasha glanced at the people crying out across the battlefield, then headed toward a patch of ground amid the ruins. She hoped the basement beneath it had survived.

"I'll connect to the Cosmic Network and see if there's any record of this out there..." Rocket took the Benatar back from Lin Yi. With the Avengers Compound reduced to rubble, he needed the ship to get online.

Tony suddenly thought of something. "I'll ask Nebula from the past. Where is she? Don't tell me she disappeared with Thanos." As he spoke, he turned sharply toward Lin Yi.

Clint had said over the comms that this Thanos had arrived because Nebula from the past had taken the place of the present-day Nebula. The one from the past might know something.

"I already told you. The present-day Nebula killed the one from the past," Clint said.

"Clint? I thought you went home." Natasha turned and saw him approaching.

"Can't." Clint slapped his thigh and rolled up his pant leg, revealing Black-purple veins on his calf...

"But Gamora from the past came here too. Maybe we can ask her—assuming Lin Yi didn't erase her with the snap..."

Tony's heart sank. Lin Yi did not seem to know Gamora was here. By the terms of his snap, she had probably turned to ash by now...

"Gamora? She should still be alive," Lin Yi said.

He had not forgotten Gamora from the past, mainly because he had spotted Star-Lord just as he snapped. The guy had tripped over something and fallen onto an alien monster, screaming loud enough to distract Lin Yi for a moment.

Tony gave Lin Yi a complicated look and thumped him on the shoulder. "How do you know everything?"

Lin Yi shrugged, then pointed at the growing chaos around them. "I know plenty. Forget that for now. Let's get moving."

An hour later, a large fleet of Stark Industries construction robots entered the battlefield. They began clearing the wreckage and building a massive temporary quarantine perimeter.

Tony ordered a huge, lavish dinner. After their initial panic, the warriors with markings on their bodies soon began to smile again.

As far as they were concerned, the Avengers were there to handle things. Thanos had unquestionably been destroyed, and the Black-purple veins on their bodies were probably just some kind of virus. All they had to do was wait for the Avengers to find a solution.

Of course, Steve and Banner had helped by moving through the crowd, talking to people and reassuring them.

But was there really reason to be so optimistic? No.