"Huh...looks like a dungeon fit for this universe anyway." Jexi said as they stood before a large flashy looking building within the Hero Universe.
"Indeed." Miriam said. "It's almost as big as Avengers Tower."
"Well, we knew we had to come here sooner or later." Captain Cold said.
"Yeah. Wonder what's inside this massive thing?" Ethox asked.
"That, young man… is a very good question." a voice said as a magic portal appeared. Coming out of it was a group of collective heroes that everyone recognized. Leading the pack was the sight of a certain sorcerer supreme.
"Dr. Strange?" Miriam asked in surprise.
"Well, it's been quite some time, hasn't it?" Poison Ivy asked.
"It has. This dungeon has alerted the attention of a lot of heroes in this universe." Dr. Strange said. "And, as you can see, I did not come alone."
Accompanying Dr. Strange were the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, Cyclops, the duo of Ghost-Spider and Ms. Marvel, and Thane.
"Hey guys!" Ms. Marvel waved.
"So, I guess the obvious question is what are we all doing here, right?" Iron Man asked.
"Yeah, that would be the best thing to ask." Hope said.
"Well...it's a dungeon and we're gonna clear it." Theo said.
"That's way too simple from you!" some of Mythos Hearts called out.
"I'm afraid it is not as simple as that." Black Panther said. "You see, this dungeon has brought back with it… the Infinity Stones."
"What?!" Al said in shock. "B-But That's impossible! I used Chronos' power to send them into the mists of time."
"Yeah, that was a pretty good trick ya did." Rocket said. "But when this place showed up, shellhead's scanners picked up the stones' energies somewhere inside it. I dunno how this place could undo somethin' like the stuff you pulled, but it happened, and the stones are back and inside that dungeon."
"And that's not all." Ghost Spider said. "Some people around the universe are saying that there's a bigger prize in there up for grabs. Guys our age call it a World Item or something."
"A World Item?!" Cobalt said.
"Ah yes. Each universe usually does seem to have at least one or more." Ainz said. "So it's not surprising one would be here of all places."
"Interesting." Miriam said. "I guess this also explains why you've brought Thane."
"I really didn't want to be involved with the stones again, but I guess some things are unavoidable." Thane nodded.
"Seems like our little caper isn't quite over yet." Cheetah said.
"Why not? I thought you guys said this whole thing was over and done with." Sachiko said.
"We thought so too but if the stones are back then you know who's not far behind." Al said.
"Thanos, of course… Ugh… Just when I thought I had enough of that guy to last me a lifetime." David said. "You all remember the Convergence, right?"
"He was a pain then, he's a pain now." Jexi said.
"Indeed. I was a refugee on Attilan when my father invaded the planet I lived on." Thane said.
"Right, right…" David said, skeptical.
"Okay...let's not waste time then. There's gonna be oodles of treasure inside." Meowth said, pushing the door open. "Come to...huh?" he said as they saw multiple doors. "The heck?!"
"These doors. There are six of them. One for each stone, if I'm not mistaken." Leopardmon said.
"These Infinity Stones are beginning to get more and more dangerous the more often we hear about them." Mayumi said.
"It's like the Circle of Fraud. There's challenges behind each of the doors, and we gotta go through them all if we want to get the stones and the prize at the end." ZS said.
"That should be obvious at this point. Those of us that had an encounter with these stones know how dangerous they are in the wrong hands." Cheetah said.
"Will you be alright containing them in your amber, Thane?" Miriam asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Miriam. We just talked about how dangerous they are." David said. "We can't take any chances dumping them all on just one person."
"Fine. Then I guess we'll divy them up between our group to make sure they don't end up all together with one person." Pikachu said.
"I'm sorry, Thane. But we've seen for ourselves how dangerous these stones are under one being." David said as he clutched his arm. "And I was a fool for not seeing the true mastermind of it all sooner."
"After all this time, it still pains you, doesn't it?" Mayumi asked.
"Yeah… You remember Dragon and the Elements. We found out later that Normal was the one controlling things behind the scenes. I spared them all except Dragon, but I didn't account for what Normal would do afterward." David said.
"We were able to stop Normal in the end. But we all understand how you think about what happened back then." Hope said.
"Yeah… It was a judgment call I made, and by sparing him, I felt like the blood was on my hands for letting him get away. But I guess it was my fault for trying to see the best in people." David said.
"Hey, it's not wrong to try and see the best in others." Mark spoke up. "If someone doesn't change their ways after getting a chance to do so, that's on them. Don't let some psycho like Normal deter you from believing that you can help others find redemption."
"Either way...it looks like we won't be able to proceed unless we have all the stones. So we have very little choice but to clear the trials." Erza said.
"Seems that way." Toya said. "Though I'm noticing that all of these doors are lighting up. It looks like there's no set order in tackling them."
"Though if the stones work like they're supposed to, the order may determine how things will go proceeding forward." Zamazenta said.
"So then, which stone should we try and claim first?" Kaibara asked.
"If the name of the game is we have to claim all six before you know who hears about them, why don't we each split into groups and tackle all six challenges at once?" Hope said.
"Ugh...you always suggest that. Our groups are too big for a split. We're better off clearing them one at a time." Naofumi said.
"He's right. I mean, it's not like the tasks will be anything too hard." David said.
"In fact...let's start off with the easiest." Theo said looking at the Space Stone door.
The group headed inside the door as they entered a chamber full of blue portals that were scattered all around the chamber with little floor space.
"Makes sense for this trial holding the Space Stone." Gamora said.
"Oh man… There are so many portals here. How the heck are we supposed to find it in the middle of all of this?" Magnamon asked.
"Relax. This isn't much of an issue. It's just like another maze. We have to go through these portals in a certain sequence." Cheetah said.
"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard figuring out the pattern." Al said.
"That's right. This is spatial energy." Gardevoir said. "Figuring out where the rifts lead should be easy."
The maze seemed to go rather easily as those who could sense spatial energy were able to easily navigate the maze for the group as they approached the Space Stone.
"Whew… That was quite easy." Agito said.
"Yeah, we got through that pretty quickly. And the Space Stone is in our possession all the same." Hope said as it was claimed. "But...there's still five left."