Here the gems were forgotten for a long time, years in the time of the Marvel Universe, leaving the respective Elders to hold them, and the In-Betweener to hold his.

It is said that Thanos learned of the Gem's true power while gazing deep into the infinity well for a second time. This occured shortly after Mistress Death brought him back to life to complete a dark mission. She placed on Thanos the task of eliminating half the sentient beings in the Universe, and to aid him in this task she greatly augmented his already near God-like powers. Thanos, however, had no intention of killing so many beings in slow step by step plans, instead he found the key that would allow him to complete his mission and at the same time make him more powerful than any could imagine.

He found the Soul Gems.

So began what was primarily labeled "The Thanos Quest" which would detail the Titan's crossing of the universe and Multiverse to gather the six gems. While feeding Mistress Death a stalling story he convinced her the gems were required to carry our his task, but did not tell her of the true might he sought after. Thusly fooling the Mistress Death he set out for the first Gem, which was in the current possession of the In-Betweener.

With little pause Thanos left to confront the effects of realities which most beings, and some Gods, cannot survive. He passed through each of these on his way to the current prison of the Soul Gem and its bearer. Upon arriving in the Nexus of Realities he found this being trapped in a sphere made by Chaos and Order, also being guarded by a squadron of guards. Thanos' chair/ship quickly dispatched of the guards in a single shot, which left him to land before the In-Betweener. Here the Titan spun a web of tales, telling the In-Between that he wished to leave the service of Mistress Death, but would need someone to protect him from her. The deal was eventually struck that were Thanos to free him then the In-Betweener would aid the Titan... these were, however, dual misleadings. With a combined effort the prison sphere was shattered and the captive released. His first action was to attempt to double cross Thanos by firing a blast of his deathly powers, yet Thanos knew the powers would not work, for they were in the Nexus of Realities, there was no opposites here, only the lack of all such things. A single punch from the Titan forced the In-Betweener into a state of unconsciousness, and Thanos easily removed the gem from his forehead. From here the Titan abandoned the In-Between the the approach Lord Chaos and Master Order, that they would punish him even furthur for attempting to escape (Recall that Thanos is outside the influence of Chaos and Order, and they cannot detect his coming or going). Next was the Power Gem, which was in possession of an Elder named Champion.

Thanos travelled to a planet within our universe known as "Tamarata" it was here that the being known as Champion had been for many years. The planet itself is home to five warring species, each fighting against each other, it is a world of constant was, and the perfect home for the being named Champion to constantly test his fighting skills. From day to day he would battle tanks and ships, each army he faced thinking him part of the enemy they were here to fight. When Thanos arrived, however, he faced his first real challenge. While hitting the Elder severl times Thanos remained untouched through the entire battle, serving to raise Champion's anger until finnaly Thanos made a stand, leaving his ships forcefeild to protect him from the blows of the enraged Elder. Champion himself believed his gem dormant and without powers, but he was unconsciouslly tapping it (Much like Drax will do in the future) making himself literally invincible and having strength without limit. Eventually the Elder became convinced he would not be able to break the field with mere blows so he leapt into orbit, literally, and came careening back down and into the planet, hitting it with enough force to completely shatter the entire world... once again... literally. Thanos had the common sense and planning to teleport right before he was hit with the blow, and appeared shortly afterwards in space. Here he pointed out that Champion could not fly and would need a ride to another planet, he offered to give him this, in exchange for the gem. Of course there was little debate, and it was agreed upon. Thanos towed him to the orbit of another world and dropped him towards it, promptly pointing out that they had agreed upon delivery, not "safe" deliverly. From here Thanos would confront the gardener, who held the Time Gem.

The gardner was to be found on the moon of earth, where he was raising a garden of unnatural beauty. It was his life's goal to create such a place, and so he had done, with brilliant blooming flowers that towered overhead, and myriad colors shining to the eyes of all witness to it. He did this through subconsciously tapping his gems ability to accelerate the process of growth in plants and then freeze them in their bloomed state. Once Thanos told him of this is was only moments before the two ceased their verbal struggle for a more physical one. The Gardner attempted to have vines overtake the Titan, but Thanos used the power gem to augment the Garner's own, causing the vegitation around him to grow through him and kill him in moments. There was little stuggle in the fight, but for Thanos' dream to survive, another's had died. Thus Thanos gained three of the gems, which he renamed the "Infinity Gems", and was halfway to gaining the ultimate power in all existance.