Chain 074+75: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Chain 074+75: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Part I

Location: Zen-Whoberi, 2009 (Earth Calendar)
Age: 30
Identity: Drop-In
Drawbacks: [+800] Steel Heart, Tipping The Scales
[Free]      Soundtrack Of The Galaxy
[Free]      They Call Me "Star-Lord"
[Free]      Make This Look Good
[50/1800]   Grootologist
[150/1800]  Enhanced Senses
[450/1800]  Radiation Resistance
[750/1800]  Super Speed
[750/2100]  Item Stipend (+300)
[Free]      Quad Blasters
[1050/2100] Hangar Bay
[Free: Ark] Dark Elf Harrow
[1450/2100] Arc Reactor (Upgraded)
[2050/2100] Ark (Ship Import: Hyperion)
[2100/2100] Assemble: Demona, Cult

Part II

Identity: Drop-In [+300]
Drawbacks: [+1000] Continuity, Sovereign, Suicidal Family
[Free]      You're Welcome, By The Way
[Free]      Ooh, Shiny
[300/2300]  Can't Do It
[900/2300]  Team Player
[1300/2300] Enlightenment
[1600/2300] Pymtastic
[1600/2800] Item Stipend
[1650/2800] Custom Tailored Clothing
[Free]      Particle Storage Container
[Free]      Ant-Man Suit
[Free]      Sling Ring
[Free]      Chakra Books
[1850/2800] Hydra Construction Plans
[2150/2800] LMD Schematics
[2650/2800] Dwarven Forge
[2700/2800] Love Sandwich (The Armor)
[2750/2800] Composite Research (The Fist of Suns)
[2800/2800] Assemble: Demona, Cult

Armor Customization: The Armatura

(Paid)      Love Sandwich
(0/1000)    Suit Up: Ant-Man Suit (+1000)
(0/2000)    Call Tricia: Power Armor (+1000)
(200/2000)  Swapping Upgrade
(300/2000)  Defenses: Kinetic Gel Interior
(600/2000)  Defenses: Vibranium Weave
(900/2000)  Nanite Storage System
(1200/2000) Power Source: Badassium	Array
(1500/2000) Omnium Infusion
(1800/2000) Plasma Array
(2000/2000) Telekinetic Tethers

Relic Customization: The Fist of Suns

(Paid)      Composite Research
(0/1000)    Reveal The Magic: Sling Ring (+1000)
(0/2000)    Beyond The Boundaries: The Fist of Suns (+1000)
(50/2000)   Unity
(100/2000)  Inert
(300/2000)  Self-Maintenance
(500/2000)  Recognized
(800/2000)  Forged of Uru
(1400/2000) Spell Amplifier
(2000/2000) By the Power of the Vishanti

Arrival on Zen Whoberi was something that threw me off quite notably, for once not a matter of adjusting to the changes that my transition to this universe wrought upon me. Over the course of centuries I've picked up many abilities, among them an empathy for the world itself, a sense of its voice and of the departed. And this world... the raw pain it feels is impressive. Frightening, even. It doesn't feel like the idyllis paradise paradise it appears to be - more like it's dragging itself by its fingernails out from the grave. Recovering, but only skin-deep.

Talking to the locals only cements this, even if they are largely keeping their distance from me. I'm sure part of this is because I neglected to disable the Path of Life, causing the plant life to flourish in my wake, or the fact that I announced my presence as I typically do anymore - by using the Ring of Elru to cast a pair of spells, and using the Fist of Suns to amplify its effect. Ritual spells being completed instantly has a tendency to be a bit of a light show, and being taken under armed guard to the leadership.

They were understandably skeptical of me, considering the last visitors to their world were the Black Order, but I assured them that their world was simply where I had arrived, and I had no designs on it in any way. My help was offered freely, and politely rebuffed, and so that was that. Still, what was done here was monstrous. It seemed that this world was not even the latest in a series of worlds that had felt the touch of Thanos. And so, I told them, even though it was too late for this world, perhaps it would not be too late for others.

I stepped between spaces and onto Hyperion, planning my journey. But... Thanos. The name was familiar enough. At the edge of my consciousness, I felt the pull of my cult. More immediately, I felt Demona's presence recognize mine, along with the pointed thought, 'It took you long enough.' A ghost of a smile crossed my face as I plotted the worldship's course, before retiring to examine and replace my mantra reactor. Acting up due to the local physics - troublesome. Hopefully not something that would cast a shadow over my time here, but... a sense of foreboding filled me. Least of which were because my cult had become machines, as Demona and I were... if not nearly as advanced.

...

The problem with asking about the bogeyman is that it tends to get you noticed. Virtually no one would recognize a Harrow, especially once it's been given a fresh paint job and a few cosmetic modifications, but it's certainly... unique. No one could give me a proper answer as to how long Thanos' crusade had been ongoing, and very few were willing to talk to me about him at all. You'd think he was the leader of a band of Necromongers or something... though I suppose from a certain point of view, that's exactly what he was. But as I said, asking questions about someone like that tends to get their attention. So, naturally, I was ambushed by a horde of Chitauri while making my way between worlds.

I didn't expect them to actually have the capability of travelling between worlds, and they did not look to be designed for long distance transport - their ships looked a bit cobbled together, to be honest, even if they were intimidating what with the spikes and everything. My Harrow was destroyed, and they seemed satisfied that I was dead. After all, almost anyone would be after going through that and left to drift in the wreckage of their spacecraft. I am not exactly just anyone, however, and apparated to the cloaked Hyperion to repair the damaged mantra reactor in my chest before repainting another Harrow and resuming my journey. The eventual result of this trip through Sovereign territory was enough to draw Thanos' attention to them, for which they wanted my life, but... well, let's not go into detail about how an ivory-and-gold Harrow was an affront to everything they stood for.

It's much more entertaining to talk about how I traced the Chitauri back to Sanctuary, interrupted their reinforcements through a portal, and happened to be there when Iron Man chucked a missile back through that portal. I don't think he expected to see what looked like a wand-waving wizard floating about in space, with a golden-and-white knight's armor, passing out blasting spells like candy. Or hitting Tony himself with a cushioning charm before knocking him back through with a banishing charm. Probably didn't do any favors to his armor's electronics, but he at least wasn't present when the nuke went off. Also, it turns out that Fiendfyre, when augmented by nuclear fire, tends to be one nasty customer. If Thanos hadn't already decided that my existence was a threat to his, that whole ordeal would have cemented it.

I, of course, got the hell out of there before the bomb detonated, because uncontrolled Fiendfyre is not something I would ever wish to be around. Apparently it did quite a nice job of cutting down their numbers before it sputtered out, though it didn't wipe them out by a long shot. Being so close to that portal being open, though... well, just because I can speak to any of my followers or companions in the universe doesn't mean it has a great deal of bandwidth. Sending through a burst of data would have unintended consequences, even if it were meant to reach Demona with intended upgrades for the cult, since they were apparently following in our footsteps.

I really need to come up with some sort of formal name for my followers.

...

I had been going through great pains to try and not disrupt things greatly. Some of the worlds I've been to, I'd have happily throw caution to the wind and do as I saw fit, but this is a universe where there are very real powers in incarnate form. Some details had been fudged, of course, but I was doing my best to not disrupt the broad strokes. I even got to see the sights. Did you know that the Nine Realms are all distinct locations in the galaxy, and aren't actually separate planes of existence?

You did?

Well, I didn't, so there. Actually pretty nifty, I have to admit. One's even a dyson sphere - seems like the local tech level is more than a little schizophrenic.

Running across a certain group of would-be mercenaries disrupted that handily, though. Granted, I was taking more of a role as a bystander when it came to watching their activities, but I definitely trailed them while they were pulling together and doing their thing. Groot is an interesting character, Rocket's happy to keep his mouth shut about me tailing them in exchange for something shiny and/or deadly, and... really, everyone else is easily distracted by notice-me-not charms. Despite that I'm eight feet tall and running around in armor that would not look out of place on a medieval knight, sans helmet. And as varied as their appearances are, having another Groot-sized tagalong was no issue - I could be argued to blend in, as long as nobody's paying too close of attention. This was a temporary arrangement, mind, and a longer term one involved equipment that could be traded by the Guardians for units. Then they were happy to have me tag along, as long as I didn't get in the way. It was vaguely amusing, however, that my eyes were very nearly the same color as Gamora's skin.

However, there are certain things that I thought I could leave on rails that I found I could not abide. I don't like to see death, you understand, especially when it's preventable. Some deaths are caused by a person's own free will, and that I won't generally interfere with, but... larger events are a different matter. Of course, I thought I was completely done for when the Collector laid eyes on me; he noticed me when everyone else wasn't paying overmuch attention. Or it might have been the consideration I was giving to robbing the man blind, that was also possible, but it's anyone's guess. He didn't comment, but we locked eyes after he made commentary on Groot, before he began talking about the Stones. Then, of course, everything exploded because of a slave's desire for freedom and power over her master.

In the wake of that power, of course, my notice-me-not charm failed. I stood, unbothered by the damage around me, while everyone else was quite confused. However, despite the Collector's immediate protests, I immediately pulled the Stone over to me by way of telekinesis... then looked down as a purple glow suffused my right arm before it disintegrated, the energy depleting toward my shoulder, flakes of carbon floating away. Fortunately, however, there was no discharge of power anywhere but the nanites that made up my body.

While everyone was busy yelling at me, my arm regrew and I tried a second time. It seemed to handle the power better, but met the same fate. Quill summed things up best by repeating what he'd said in the immediate wake of the Stone's release of power, as I picked it up a third time.

"Third time's the charm," I commented, before I closed my fist, created a portal in my hand out of anyone's view, and dropped the Stone through the portal and into my warehouse before making good my escape.

Considering the vast quantity of guns that immediately were brought to bear on me, I think my immediate escape proved to be very effective. The Ring of Elru, as one may recall, can create one million gold every second when used at peak capacity. Those coins are roughly the size of a quarter, if slightly thicker - and while it injured no one, I was able to quite literally surf out the door on an ever-growing wave of gold, thus ending my brief association with the Guardians.

I didn't expect the Sovereign to have pursued me here, and apparently being able to summon giant piles of gold was not something that impressed them, but the Joestar Secret Technique on the other hand... okay, that didn't impress them either, but it WAS effective.

...

After this point, things were fairly quiet as I began making my way to Earth. Aside from the Sovereign coming after me because I committed several acts of heresy, that is. And the Nova Corps, because I was in possession of one of the Infinity Stones and I was clearly pursuing more. And the Kree, because despite everything, Ronan the Accuser was one of their own. And Thanos, because not only was my existence an affront to him, but I had something that he very dearly wished to hold, and I wished to take more before he could obtain them.

Unfortunately, though this put us in direct conflict. When we met for the first time, on my return to Knowhere, he wore the Gauntlet. The Black Order was held at bay with an army of skeletal automatons, hellish red eyes aglow. They may not have been a match individually, but quantity has a quality all its own, and it was enough to ensure that I only faced Thanos in single combat.

Thanos was displeased to see that I held a tool similar to his own - the Fist of Suns, reforged with Uru, its power amplified and with a place for every Stone upon it. I was only just barely his match in personal combat, and were it not for skill and precognition, I would have fallen under his raw strength. At that point, it was fortunate that he had only the Space Stone on the Gauntlet, while mine held the Power Stone.

"You know what would happen - yet you would allow unchecked growth throughout the galaxy," he told me. "The inevitable outcome is conflict that would burn out the stars themselves and choke the universe as it starves."

"Your intended solution is no better. Imposing outside balance ruins equilibrium and sends it all into discord," I explained as we held a calm discussion, punctuated by mutual violence. Not the most surreal thing I've done, not by a long shot. "You're looking through the window of your own experience, hailing from an overpopulated world that killed itself in a mad self-destructive orgy of violence-" I didn't expect the punch he threw as a result of those words, but it tossed me a good distance.

"I know your heart, traveller! You think you know better than those here, like they are impudent children!" he roared, manipulating the battlefield with the space stone, sending whole buildings to crash upon me.

Stepping in a direction that didn't exist in order to reappear behind him and strike a staggering blow, I replied, "Titan, compared to me, YOU are a child! I have lived thirty-six thousand years and have been, by my own hand, the Emperor of my species four times over. You, who think you simply MUST chase after power and impose your will on others, a victim of circumstance who pulled himself up by his bootstraps." I struck another blow, though he used his Stone to halt his movement instead of being flung a distance. I continued, "Myself... I came from an overpopulated world, poisoning itself. I was handed power for no apparent reason at all." His Stone flared and I felt the attempt to affect me directly, but the bluish glow was repelled by the ivory mail armor that I wore. "You continue grasping for every little bit of power possible, because you feel you must... but I do not what I do for such reasons. I do what I do only because I am who I am."

"And what would you do with them?" he asked, as we traded blows once more.

"I might simply make everyone immortal for the hell of it," I mused as I ducked a blow that would have rocked me to the core. Then I frowned. "Actually, no, that's how you get the cancerverse, so absolutely not. Damn, now I have to rethink my entire motivation. So much for perfect balance."

This actually got him to pause as he stared at me in shock. "Do you take NOTHING seriously? You truly are the monster they say I am."

I shrugged, and replied, "If I don't laugh, I'll despair at the bleakness I've seen. Better to find amusement where I can, glory where it can exist, instead of thinking existence to be just one black awful joke. Our motives are the same. What I do, I do to spare the pain of everyone in existence. Do you think the suffering you prevent will outweigh the suffering you cause?"

He looked as though he was going to answer me, before instead knocking me for a loop and using the space stone to open a portal between where I was flying and deep space. By the time I'd recovered and gotten Hyperion to bring me back to where I needed to be, he'd already gotten his hands on the Reality Stone and left for Vormir.

...

Vormir was not a place I was looking forward to visiting. It seemed that I had gotten there just barely in time. Time enough that I heard the end of the explanation that Thanos heard. Time enough to hear Gamora crowing in triumph, before it abruptly turned to despair.

"Thanos," I called, a hundred feet away. His tearful visage turned to me, distracted just long enough. Again stepping out of sync in order to cross the distance, I imported as much force into the kick I delivered to his chest as I could, sending him beyond the altar, to the edge of the cliff. He scrambled for anything to grab onto, managing to grab the edge of the cliff and hanging, and I walked over to him, Gamora simply sitting there in shock, albeit missing a tuft of hair. Looking over the side of the cliff, it was still in Thanos' grip.

"Thanos," I repeated more softly, reaching down and offering my hand. He reached back up, uncertainly, with his armored hand. I grasped it with both hands, before letting it go. His confusion turned to anger and fear as he dangled again, looking down at his Gauntlet, realizing what had happened. The two stones that had been in it were no longer there - and as they were slotted into the Fist of Suns, I told him, "For what it's worth... I am sorry." I looked up at the Red Skull and nodded, before stepping on Thanos' hand; the wraith nodded back as Thanos' grip failed under the weight of my boot and the pain of broken fingers, and he slid into the abyss.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head as the altar glowed; when it faded, the Red Skull was gone and Gamora was picking herself off the ground. When I opened my eyes, I felt the fourth Stone in my grip, opening the Fist of Suns to slide the fourth Stone into place.

Gamora looked between it and myself in confusion. "I don't- I don't understand. You had no love for Thanos, but the stonekeeper said..." she trailed off, looking at me. I strode past her, a grimace on my face as pieces began to flake off of my armor. "Wait. Wait! A life had to be traded for the Stone!"

I turned back toward her and she was startled by the change in my eyes. Before, when we'd met, they'd been a striking shade of green. Now they were the color of embers, with a glow to match. "A soul had to be traded," I corrected her, my voice holding a gentleness that my expression didn't match. I paused in my movements, flakes of white falling away from my armor, leaving the color of rust behind.

She swallowed, taking a step back. "W-what do you mean? What did you sacrifice?"

I shook my head slowly, casting my gaze up to the stars as the Unreal Crown manifested itself, spikes of unreality floating above my brow. "Many things. Most relevant to you? Determinism. Your life was saved, and that took the universe from its set path. I've thrown fate into the abyss screaming; the future is chaos, now." When she just looked at me with confusion, I explained, "With a snap of his fingers, Thanos would have eradicated half the life that exists. Every world, every sentient would have faced the toss of a coin. And so I surrendered the only thing I swore I'd always cling to... and to save trillions of lives, it is a price I pay gladly."

When I started walking away, she asked, "What soul?" When I was silent as I began to descend the mountain, she shouted, "What did you sacrifice?!"

I smiled, though there was no joy in it, and didn't turn back. "My love for you all is what brought me here, and it burns on the pyre." I paused for a beat, then said, "Tell the Black Order that their leader is dead. I will go to Earth, where I know the other two Stones remain. And then this universe will kneel."

...

"Thanos should have known his mythology. The Titans were brought low by the new gods," I muttered to myself as Hyperion appeared in orbit of Earth, not bothering with the cloak. Or brought Earth into its own orbit, perhaps - it was larger than the planetary body, even if the null-grav kept it from disrupting orbit. I looked across the bridge of Hyperion, before nodding to myself and issuing the order.

...

Consider this:

You are enjoying a pleasant morning. It is a Saturday, and things have been calm. Quite nice. Unseasonably good weather, a few fluffy clouds floating about like cotton on the breeze. The sun shines down, it is a pleasant warm day. And then in the sky, something appears.

If it were evening, the moon would be the size of your thumbnail if you held it up. This thing? It blots out half the sky. It eclipses the sun, and seems to emit an eldritch glow, not unlike bronze, glowing on its surface in strange patterns. And after a matter of minutes, specks begin appearing in the sky. The specks fly to a handful of places on Earth, leaving most of it alone, and most of Earth doesn't understand what is going on.

You are in New York City, and the alien worldship is directly overhead. Chrome skeletons with embers for eyes are crashing into the pavement, picking themselves up like nothing happened, and marching on Manhattan. NYPD shoots at them, and are answered with bolts of purple energy from clunky-looking weapons. The Avengers begin fighting them, and so does the military. They're even successful, to a point. A number of vigilante heroes help, and eventually the machines are beaten back as they flee skyward again.

You are in Wakanda, and the worldship has just crested the horizon. These machines come to your nation in greater numbers than any attack you've ever seen before. They don't seem to be targeting people so much as infrastructure, damaging buildings, tearing down the devices that hid the nation from the outside world. Some are able to flee with technology. Others flee with raw materials. They will return - they carved that message in fire.

You are in your secure bunker. No one could get to you here, and even if they did, when one head falls, two more rise. But you've been getting panicked calls for the last twenty minutes from other cells, and those skeletons are tearing through the concrete with their bare hands. You turn when you hear the sound of flames to see a formerly loyal LMD with a flame-wreathed hand reaching to you.

"Hail Hydra," the faceless automaton says, echoing a thousand other LMDs taking the same action, and then you know no more.

A hydra can, after all, be killed with the proper application of fire.

...

Things did not go as many might have expected. The Black Order was on my heels, and behind them, the Kree, the Nova Corps, the Sovereign, and after the initial attack Earth's defenders were united and ready for the next blow I would strike. I'd united the galaxy, even if it was just so that it could stand against me.

Thousands of fighters flew through space from Hyperion, to keep the disparate forces at bay, while I went planetside personally - the world's eyes were on Wakanda, where the battle raged. A thousand life model decoys, equipped with power armor that made a certain New York based hero jealous. An armored, winged gargoyle flying through the skies, tearing through her opponents. And myself, striding through the chaos, inexorably throwing aside on opponent after opponent.

Stephen Strange and I had been dueling throughout, even if it wasn't something that anyone else perceived. He saw, with the Eye of Agamatto, that trying to flee would simply cause me to abandon what I was doing and launch devastating attacks on him. He tried a great many things, and he was in a uniquely privileged position to try any number of tricks that I could disrupt with my own unique perception of time and its flow.

"It has been a very long time since I was able to deal with anyone else in this way," I told him cheerfully, in a timeline that was overwritten scant seconds later. "You have made me a happy man."

"Next, I'll make you a dead one," he replied with gritted teeth, launching attack after attack at me, looping time to empower his attacks.

Even without using the Infinity Stones, dodging was child's play when one can step between space. "I think not," I replied, tapping him on the shoulder. "Did you know, incidentally, that the Mad Titan wasn't wrong? Not about this, but killing half his world would've worked. Granted, there were other methods that would have worked as well, but... Thanos wasn't exactly wrong."

Strange staggered after I belted him across the face, before the timeline was altered so that he evaded me. "It doesn't mean that he was right," he replied, and energy tore my body apart before I tweaked the timeline to evade it. Of course, shortly after, the five minutes we'd been fighting started anew. While perhaps supremely confusing from an outside perspective, it made sense to the two of us as we fought.

"If I wasn't here, you would have wasted more than fourteen million attempts to stop Thanos before giving him the Stone," I informed him, before we resumed playing Paradox Keep-Away. "Though I arrived before you became Sorcerer Supreme, I think. Or shortly after."

"And you think I would just give up without having tried?"

I smiled, shark-like. "Oh, you're only this world's Sorcerer Supreme. There are more things in Heaven and Earth," I mused, before lashing out again. And when he rewound time, I shifted it to hit him again. And again. And again. After several attempts, he thought better of it, before I inclined my head. "You see... Thanos wasn't aware that you were playing with time. I am. And if you don't surrender the stone, I will happily end every single being on this planet. And then bring them back and do it again. And again. Or are you not paying attention to this battle? How many casualties have there been so far? Zero. ZERO. Do you doubt in any way that it could be far, FAR greater if I wasn't being merciful? My patience has expired, Stephen. Choose."

...

"It was the only way."

...

"All I want to do is create the perfect soldier," I groused, after I punted Natasha Romanov away. No loss there, truly. "Not for power! Not for evil, but for good!" The Black Panther was definitely not prepared for me to make a fist with my gauntlet and quite literally punch him to the rear lines, through a distortion in space. "They shall march forward and sweep away every adversary, every creed, every nation! Until the very galaxy is in the loving grip of the Pax Cruxica. And then peace will reign in the universe, and all life shall bow to me... in humble gratitude."

Captain America stood before me, and my attempt to lash out rang against his shield. "You sound like every other tinpot dictator," he grumbled back at me, lashing out with his shield. I do not believe he expected me to grab the shield and tear it away from him, throwing it so that it embedded in a tree a short distance away. "Well. That's unfortunate."

"Of course!" I snapped at him. "You thought you could be victorious here? What do I have to fear from you!? Worker ants, scurrying about with their pitiful weapons. Afraid of the purity of unarmed combat!"

In answer, he cracked his knuckles and came at me - after all, I'd just disarmed him. And very shortly after, bloodied, Steve Rogers dodged blasts of energy, one after another. "What happened to the purity of unarmed combat?!"

I turned a gimlet eye at him. "Oh, come now. This is merely arcane science! Surely you've heard of it." He levelled a disbelieving stare at me, and I fought the urge to grin, spreading my arms. "It is the power that brings Asgardians across the Bifrost. It is the power within Hyperion, the world-ship that brought me here. It is the same power that turned you into the very man you are today! And it is the power within... me."

"You have GOT to be kidding me," he murmured as I levitated myself with telekinesis, then launched myself at him. He dodged, if narrowly.

"Something wrong, Captain? You come here prepared to fight a madman, and instead, you found a god?!"

"You'll forgive me if I don't bow down and pray," he replied dryly, before dodging another blast of eldritch energy, working his way back toward his shield all the while.

"You still refuse to accept my own godhood? Fine! Keep your own god," I spat, turning toward the next target, ignoring him for now. "In fact... this might be a good time to pray to him." With a brief abuse of time travel, I threw the Scarlet Witch to the ground before she could strike Vision, and plucked the Soul Stone from him. The Fist of Suns glowed in the twilight, energy arcing between its fingers and up my arm. Which, mercifully, did not disintegrate this time.

This, of course, was the point that Thor descended from the skies. Or rather, the Bifrost. Instinctively I lashed out with the power of the Stones, but it splashed against his axe - wait, wasn't he supposed to be wielding a hammer? - as he descended, before planting that axe within my chest. A rather unpleasant experience for most.

Grinning at him despite, I raised my gloved hand in greeting. "It seems the Captain's prayers were answered. How's Asgard these days?" I asked him, before he pulled the axe out to swing at me again. The wound in my armor sealed itself, as I grabbed his arm, matching strength for strength. "I could end you with a snap of my fingers, Asgardian. Another might have. But... no. After all... a god requires a suitable throne."

Thor looked at me with puzzlement, then horror, as I raised my hand and snapped my fingers, a pulse of power going out as my will was made manifest, if not here. Abruptly, the battlefield was silenced, bodies appearing out of thin air, bodies that blinked in surprise and picked themselves up, surprised that they could draw breath. Among them, Loki, looking down at himself before looking at Thor, who was obviously struggling with me. To his credit, he didn't so much as question, he immediately joined the attack on my person, forcing me to let go of the arm holding Stormcaller.

Captain America's shield bounced off the back of my skull, and Spider-Man began webbing up the Fist of Suns, gumming it up as my arm was pinned. I realized, as I began to draw on more power than I'd needed before, that perhaps fighting everyone with one arm tied behind my back was not so easy as I might have boasted it was. And yet, despite everything, even with the Kree attacking me, the Sovereign's drones strafing the battlefield, the Black Order, the Guardians, the Avengers... yes, the person to strike the last blow was Captain America, after Thor had created an opening in my armor.

The wounds seemed to have taken their toll, my armor was in tatters, and I fell backward onto the ground. Any number of weapons were levelled at me, and instead... I smiled.

"Asgardian."

"What do you want?" Thor asked, Stormbreaker still at the ready.

"I want you... to go home." I held up the Fist and, despite the web, managed to snap my fingers. Everyone tensed, but all that happened was the appearance of a portal hanging in the air. A portal to Asgard's throne room, with a tearful Frigga and Odin visible, looking toward the portal, startled. I let my arm fall again, coughing, crimson spittle on my lips.

"Now what happens?" asked a somewhat confused Peter Parker, and I looked up to him and favored him with a smile. I raised my hand... but the Fist was dissolving into ash. In fact, my entire arm was beginning to fall apart into ash and dust.

With a sad smile, I shook my head a little. "Sorry, kid. Looks like I can't bring your old man back," I said, my voice growing quieter, before I coughed again. The dissolving effect spread from my arm to my torso, though it seemed to go for my legs first. "I don't feel so good," I murmured, looking around with wide eyes... before looking at Captain America. "But you... you fought well. I wish you could understand... the difference you made." A grudging nod is all he gave me, and so I turned my gaze to Iron Man. "T-tony. Do me... one favor."

Stark looked nonplussed, but I was having trouble breathing, so I at least scored a sympathy point... but from the tone of his voice, perhaps not. "What do you want?"

"Movie night," I wheezed, as my gaze looked skyward. "Street... fighter... S-steve..." I paused, my pupils becoming fixed, as I inhaled a rattling wheeze. "Oh my," I whispered, before I breathed my last and the rest of my body dissolved.

The Avengers looked at each other in confusion. "What the hell? Wasn't that Raul Julia's last movie?"

...

A few days later, at Avengers Tower:

"THAT SON OF A BITCH--!"

...

Meanwhile, I made good my escape. It was all a fine production, Hyperion disappeared, seemingly imploding upon itself, but the Reality Stone is quite excellent for illusions like that. Even that size. But no, I had bigger fish to fry.

In the end, ants are no match for me. Not the Inhumans, not golden space ubermensch and Adam Warlock himself, no Asgardian or Titan. There is only one kind of being that can hold their ground against someone like me.

The Celestials.

They have been waiting. I have been evading them with the greatest care throughout. But there is to be no more running; now is the time to face them. With the Fist of Suns and the Infinity Stones amplifying my magic, I have the power to match. With accelerated speed, I can match any move they make against me. And with pym particles, their imposing size is of no consequence, for I can match it as well.

I saw this coming from the very beginning.

But this power is mine, and I won't allow anyone... or anything... to take it.

I will not be judged. Not without a fight.

What man hath wrought, let no god put asunder.