NationStates

WHAT IF...?
An MCU-Based RP
Disclaimer: I take no credit for the image/logo. I take no credit for any of the MCU's sandbox; I just want to play in it with other people.

IC [You Are Here] || OOC
DISCORD

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“...and that is why you, Antonia Stark, have been selected above all others to lead this team I am forming,” a formless figure finished their grand speech; their voice did not give way to emotion or - well, anything, really.


“So, to sum it up: the Multiverse is a mess, you want me to lead a time that you point at Universes that are way too broken or about to be to preserve the Multiverse's stability, and also interfere with any Multiversal maniacs that are trying to disrupt said stability,” Toni said, and wow, was it bad that she didn't even feel incredulous anymore? What even was her life, at this point.


“That summary is apt, yes,” the figure answered; their voice was really starting to creep Toni out.


“So, uh, two questions, I guess: who are you, and who's my team?” Toni decided it was best to just - get to the point. She could... process, later. Right now, focusing on a mission felt like it'd be easier than to unpack... well. All of this. Especially since- no, don't think about it right now, we just went over this.


“I do not have a 'name' as you would understand it; but, in the past, I have been called a Guide,” the Guide answered, and then continued, “and as for your team, I will be choosing them as I chose you - people who have died from throughout the Multiverse, ones both familiar to you and ones who won't be. I am hopeful that you and I will be able to convince them to work with you and allow you to lead them as you protect the Multiverse.”


“...this is going to go badly, I can feel it,” Toni muttered to herself.


“Your first teammates arrive,” the Guide interrupted Toni before she could try to tell him to just pull in alternates or variants or whatever of the Avengers, and Toni braced herself, looking at the weird trippy portal gate that acted as the entrance to this... Observatory.

Before
Dr. Bruce Banner, the Hulk

They were arguing. In some ways, those two had never stopped arguing. Steve and Tony, each trying to one-up the other, and neither listening to the other - or anyone else, for that matter. No matter how much Bruce himself was trying to raise his own voice, it was hard to penetrate that verbal sparring. Captain America vs. Iron Man, not the first time they had argued. But this time it was for a noble reason. The robotic Infinity Gauntlet that Tony had designed still needed to be tested. The Infinity Stones recovered from the past (thanks to those Pym Particles) were mystically set in place. All they needed was a test subject.

Both Steve and Tony wanted to be it, though. And neither was a good choice.

Bruce raised his deep voice again. "Guys! I'm the only one who can. I'm the strongest. If anything happens, if that Gauntlet and those stones do anything to me, I can probably survive it. You know I'm the most logical choice..." Bruce's words died out in volume as the squabbling Avengers were paying attention - finally. Bruce could tell they weren't really that appreciative of the choice, each having to give up the danger and potentially the glory of reversing Thanos' pyschotic act five years earlier. The Infinity Gauntlet, after all, could bring back all those whose lives had been ground into black dust those years before.

But they needed a strong test subject. And there was only one choice.

When he tried on the Gauntlet, though, a rush of power flooded through the Gauntlet and surging into the Professor Hulk's arm. Crying out in a loud voice, Bruce tried to seize the power, but to no avail. It washed over him, again and again, stronger than the time before, each wave of energy carrying with it a force unlike anything Bruce Banner had experienced. But as the waves of energy grew stronger, Bruce's arm grew weaker, his voice grew more frantic, and the waves of energy soon were drowning the giant green professor hybrid, and not just his harm. Bruce was aware that Tony, Thor, Steve and others were trying to pry the Gauntlet off his hands... but to no avail. As he struggled to maintain his hold on life, Bruce could only hope that he could resist. The thought of defeating Thanos and bringing everyone back was, sadly, not as strong as the primal will to stay alive. His last thoughts were pathetic, actually, more of sensations of wanting something but seeing it being taken away. Each surge of energy from the new Infinity Gauntlet brought delirium to his mind, and darkness to his eyes. And soon... soon there was nothing but darkness. And the Hulk's lungs stopped expanding and retracting. His giant heart stopped beating. And the anguished cries of his Avenger teammates were unheard by his ears.

---

Just as the darkness seemed to engulf Dr. Bruce Banner, the hybrid-Hulk, a source of light brightened the near horizon. That light grew more definite shape into that of a doorway, and the light approached nearer. Bruce was aware of whispers in the dark, unintelligible noises, really, but nothing really he could put his finger on. Meanwhile, the doorway of odd light approached, steadily, until it came to Bruce. And without stopping, engulfed him in it just as the darkness had moments before.

Somewhat disoriented, Bruce was astonished to see himself in another room. Not the color or set up of the Avengers' headquarters that he had just been at. And whereas he had before been surrounded by his team, now there was himself and a woman. She was medium height, brunette, and Bruce had the odd deja vu sense of having seen her before. But he couldn't place her. She was very familiar somehow... as if she was the fraternal twin of Tony Stark himself.

As the room stabilized to normal in his perception, the Hulk's mind relaxing as he adjusted to his new setting, he puzzled over it. Where was he? And why was he here? Had the Infinity Gauntlet transported him somewhere else? If so, why wouldn't he be wearing it? Bruce looked down at his right arm that had once worn the Gauntlet, the same arm Bruce had seen with his own eyes begin to shrivel and turn black as the Infinity Stones' power leeched life from him. But to his surprise, the arm was healthy, strong, just as it had been before he had touched the Infinity Gauntlet!

Unsure of what was happening, Bruce just tried to ask the lady, "Hey, I'm not meaning to be rude, but what just happened? And forgive me for asking, but you look an awful lot like someone I know. You don't happen to be related to Tony Stark, do you? Like maybe his sister?"

Anton laughed, even as the brightness burned through, flooding his mind and his perception with sweet, hot, oblivion. He had not expected to die like this, at the hands of the accursed Stark-who-had-wronged-them. As memories surfaced and faded, he accepted that he had not pulled down the Stark Empire, but at least now the world would know that his father! was not a Leviathan spy and that Stark had stolen the Arc Reactor designs, the Vanko legacy, from Ivan Vanko!.

Had it been worth it? Perestroika - Reconstruction? Anton had come to understand that Things had to be pulled down in order for reconstruction to occur, especially the icons of the past that held people in bondage, false gods, to be torn down and destroyed so that people could be free to rebuild. He had seen the destruction in Karabakh and Novi Grad, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, and in every conflict the name Stark had loomed large as the purveyor of suffering and misery. Had it been worth dying for? What would happen after, would the world change or was war and suffering inevitable?

Anton laughed and he was still laughing when he felt the cold hardness of a floor beneath him. His eyes still shut he stopped laughing and frowned, he had not considered that hell would be so ordinary. Turning his head towards the voices Anton was even more surprised to see a handsome brunette woman speaking to a green skinned giant.

had it been worth it? He grinned. he supposed that the woman and the giant had heard him laughing, but for now he would say nothing. Better to watch and listen, and wait to see just what fate was offering to him...