Thanos’s Ancestors Were Earthlings

Russell arrived at Kamar-Taj but did not meet the Sorcerer Supreme as expected. He did not even get through the door.

A voice that sounded very much like the Sorcerer Supreme’s came from behind the door, telling Russell that the Sorcerer Supreme had no time to see him. He was busy resisting an invasion by an Evil God from another dimension.

Before Russell could make a sarcastic remark, the door opened a crack and a fist-sized metal container was tossed onto the ground. The door then slammed shut.

Russell’s sharp eyes noticed that the person whose voice resembled the Sorcerer Supreme’s also wore a sleeve identical to the Sorcerer Supreme’s robes.

"Um, whoever’s in there, please pass a message to Master Ancient One. Tell him the Black Panther God asked Russell to bring him a message: may Master Ancient One live to a hundred!"

With that, Russell picked up the metal container and ran off in a flash.

Back aboard the Cybertron jet fighter, Russell connected the metal container and began importing its data. The container was the Star Map—or, more precisely, a hard drive storing the Star Map. He just did not know how old it was or whether it had been updated recently.

Much like the map apps people used on their phones, the universe was constantly expanding and changing, so the Star Map naturally needed occasional updates. Getting lost would be one thing, but flying headfirst into a star and getting both ship and crew destroyed was entirely possible.

Once the data import was complete, Russell put away the metal container, piloted the fighter upward, and swiftly broke through the atmosphere.

Behind them, Earth, its clouds, oceans, and continents gradually shrank away. The beautiful sight was so breathtaking that it left people speechless.

"This really is… magnificent!"

Seeing it in person was completely different from watching a 3D sci-fi documentary in a theater. Russell was overwhelmed with shock. Even he, a man from the twenty-first century, felt that way—let alone Natasha, whose worldview was still stuck in the World War II era. Ever since they left the atmosphere, she had practically crashed.

Jason was the only one without a reaction. The kid was not exactly quick on the uptake; by the time he understood what was happening, they might already be in the next light-year.

The starry sky ahead glittered brilliantly, countless points of light scattered through the deep universe like grains of sand in the Ganges.

The boundless spectacle left Russell dry-mouthed. He subconsciously placed his hand over the Warp Drive’s activation button. "Since we’re already here, how about we explore the universe first?"

"BOSS, we’ll follow your arrangements."

Natasha said she would obey, but despite her words, a hint of longing showed in her sparkling eyes.

Jason: (._.)

Neither of them objected, so Russell immediately pressed the button. As the Warp Drive activated, the pinpoint stars ahead of the cockpit instantly stretched into countless streaks of light.

Cybertron’s spacecraft technology was beyond question. It possessed the formidable technological capability to cross the universe; traversing a mere solar system posed no difficulty at all.

After setting the ship to autopilot, Russell began studying the Star Map. The universe was vast and boundless. Without the Star Map to guide them, they could fly blindly for a lifetime and never reach their destination.

"Let me see, where’s the nearest wormhole?"

In high spirits, Russell hummed a tune as he adjusted the Star Map into a three-dimensional image. Natasha beside him looked over curiously. She knew nothing about space travel and was still in the beginner’s learning phase.

"BOSS, what are you looking for?"

"Spatial nodes, so we can make long-distance jumps."

Russell patiently explained. He possessed the Ace Driver’s permanent skill; as long as he knew how to operate a vehicle, he could handle it proficiently.

There was no hope for Jason. Russell hoped to train Natasha into an outstanding space pilot. After all, the BOSS could not be the one driving every time while his subordinates merely watched from the side.

"You know the universe is immeasurably vast, practically infinite in scale. The Milky Way alone, not counting its corona and outer matter, spans more than a hundred thousand light-years in diameter. If we rely solely on the Warp Drive, we’ll never come into contact with other civilizations. That’s why taking shortcuts is so important…"

Russell explained the importance of spatial nodes and continued, "According to mathematical models, the universe has a periodic honeycomb-like structure. That inevitably creates a great number of spatial nodes. We can use these shortcuts to make spatial jumps, instantly crossing vast distances and achieving long-range space travel."

"This fighter can detect spatial nodes?" Russell’s explanation was concise and easy to understand. Natasha quickly grasped its significance and began operating the controls under his guidance.

"Traveling through spatial nodes is ideal for long-distance flight, but it places certain demands on the ship’s structure and the physical condition of those aboard. That’s why I’ve always pursued the Super Soldier serum."

"Is it dangerous?" Natasha’s fingers paused over the controls.

Russell shrugged. "A single passage carries no risk. But if you continuously pass through spatial nodes, the passengers’ bodies will be squeezed and stretched by spatial gravity during the repeated jumps. You can imagine what that looks like."

Natasha imagined it and gave a dry laugh. "The universe really is dangerous!"

"There’s actually a safer method of jumping that covers even greater distances. Space gates, Space Bridges, stargates—you can call them whatever you want." Russell tapped the projected control console. "Those are things only advanced civilizations possess. They can transport a single person, a Space Battleship, or even an entire planet. The distances are absurd too—across galaxies…"

At that point, Russell paused for three seconds and said with complete seriousness, "Honestly, I don’t want to detect one of those things in the solar system."

Natasha understood how terrifying that would be. She swallowed and nodded repeatedly. For Earth, it would be an unstoppable disaster.

Just then, a red dot lit up on the Star Map. A spatial node had been detected.

Russell looked up, and his expression immediately turned strange. Seeing this, Natasha enlarged the location of the spatial node. "BOSS, it’s near Titan. Is something wrong?"

Russell’s mouth twitched. "Nothing’s wrong. Titan just reminds me of someone not very friendly."

"What?"

"Nothing. Accelerate toward it and begin our first spatial jump. Remember, this will be one of the greatest moments in humanity’s journey to explore the universe."

The Cybertron jet fighter flew straight toward Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere.

In the real world, scientists believed Titan’s surface gravity was extremely low, comparable to the Moon’s, while the methane in its atmosphere could be regarded as a foundation for life.

In other words, this planet was highly likely to harbor life!

In the Marvel Universe, this moon had indeed once supported life: the Eternals, who possessed extraordinarily long lifespans and powerful physical abilities. Their representative figure was—Thanos!

Speaking of Thanos, while researching Marvel Comics, Russell discovered that the Eternals to which this guy belonged originated on Earth. They were a branch of humanity. In other words, Thanos was distantly related to Earthlings—just such an unimaginably distant relation that it hardly counted!

Over a million years ago, the Celestials arrived on Earth. At the time, one Celestial wished to test the adaptability of human genes and accelerate human evolution, granting them the potential to manipulate limited cosmic energy. Thus, the Eternals were born.

After that came certain mythological tales—or rather, a series of events that were passed down and eventually became myths. The Eternals split apart and war broke out, with Kronos and Uranus leading the two sides…

In the end, the defeated side established a colony on Titan, where Thanos was born. This cosmic overlord, the infamous Mad Titan, was actually from the solar system.

Russell did not tell Natasha any of this. Even if he did, she would not feel much about it. Better to let her continue happily in ignorance.

After adjusting the Warp Drive, the Cybertron jet fighter sped toward Titan. In the deep space ahead, countless hexagonal patches resembling honeycomb structures appeared. One was dark in color, entirely different from the translucent patches around it.

"That’s it. Our journey through the universe begins now!"

Russell cheered and accelerated, plunging straight into the spatial node.

He had no intention of stopping at Titan. It was Thanos’s birthplace; perhaps Thanos was there right now, tearfully wiping his eyes from homesickness. Going there to inspect the ruins at a time like this would be like walking straight into the line of fire.

In the blink of an eye, the Cybertron jet fighter burst out of the spatial node. Russell silently called it exhilarating, and Natasha beside him felt the same thrill.

"How did it feel? Can you handle it?"

"My heart’s beating a little faster. It was great!"

Russell raised an eyebrow, tempting her. "Want to try it again?"

Natasha was still wanting more. "BOSS, I’ll follow your arrangements."

"Get ready. We’ll keep detecting spatial nodes…"

On their first voyage through space, the two were like children who had just received new toys. Once they got their hands on them, they could not stop. They passed through more than a dozen spatial nodes in a row before finally settling down due to physical discomfort.

"That was too exciting, Natasha. Can your body still take it?"

Russell licked his lips. The instant they exited a spatial node and the instant they entered one, the suffocating sensation of their bodies being repelled and pulled was like facing death itself. It brought an addictive thrill.

Natasha said nothing. Her watery eyes stared straight at Russell as she took his hand and pressed it against her slightly flushed cheek.

Russell: "…"

Damn it, why had I brought Jason along? Wasn’t that just making things difficult for myself?

Russell silently pulled back his hand, coughed lightly to signal Natasha to calm down, and rapidly worked the Star Map with both hands. "Let me see if there’s a planet nearby where we can land."

Soon, the nearest planet enlarged on the Star Map—Kontraxia!

"Where is that? Forget it, that’ll do. Let’s go take a look first."

Natasha was not in good shape and urgently needed a shot to the heart. Russell could not worry about anything else as he guided the Cybertron jet fighter toward Kontraxia.

It was a deep-blue planet with a thick atmosphere. As the fighter descended layer by layer, the view suddenly opened up.

Before their eyes, snow fluttered through the air. The planet’s clouds were too thick to let in much sunlight, but the land was covered in silver-white snow that reflected enough light to make everything bright.