????? POV
The world changed on this day—by what I can only call Divine Coincidence.
In the earlier hours, Prince Loki returned after a year, long considered lost or dead after his confrontation with Thor on the Rainbow Bridge. He did not return alone. He carried with him a scepter, and hidden within it, an artifact of unimaginable power—one he himself knows nothing of. Alongside him came the Chitauri, an army of hive-minded aliens with technology far beyond anything humanity has, or will have, for centuries.
Yet all of that paled beside the result of the Convergence happening at the same time, causing the seven realms to align for a full day before drifting apart once more.
And in the midst of that chaos—by coincidence or design—the world was forever changed.
An alternate Earth connected to ours. A gate was opened between realities, and unlike the temporary Convergence, this one was permanent. Absolute. It would take beings of vast power to undo it… but why would they want to?
I could help them. I could close this portal—but that would require me to act. To affect the natural flow of the world I have been tasked only to watch and document.
I will not break my vows over this. This is another trial for this world and its defenders. Come ruin, come prosperity, I will be here to record the new story of the universe.
I will stay and watch, as I have for millennia.
Dominic Sanches (Achilles) POV
Everything went to shit as soon as Loki opened the portal and started the invasion.
Personally, I'm glad. Glad I didn't bother acting on the memories of my past life—I knew they'd be useless, barely worth following even as guidelines.
The "MCU" was a watered-down version of the true insanity that is this grim-dark universe. Powerful and cruel aliens, many-angled ones, devils, demons, gods, cosmic beings, angels… You can't trust anyone or anything but yourself here.
How many times have the X-Men been betrayed by those they saved? Mutants are our own worst enemies—wasn't it Wanda Maximoff who depowered ninety percent of the mutant population? How many times has Tony Stark sided with the government to persecute supers?
Not to mention the Illuminati, who betrayed the Hulk and got his wife killed.
The only silver lining in my life was being born in Ecuador—far from the madness of the American hero community. And even that isn't enough.
I remember when I first unlocked my mutant genes. I was five, watching the news with my dad. We saw the X-Men confront Magneto as he prepared to start World War III by sending a nuclear missile—fired by the Americans—right back at them. Luckily, a random mutant in Washington with portal powers teleported it into the upper atmosphere, where it detonated harmlessly.
That's when my memories awoke. I panicked, recognizing this universe and its absurd power levels—and its universe-ending plots.
And that's when I got my power: Power Creation. I can create any ability I can visualize, with one caveat—I must have the required energy to do so. When I awakened, I only had Alpha-level mutant energy. Since I was young and Ecuador wasn't embroiled in the same madness as the States, I didn't need combat powers urgently.
Sure, we had problems—warlords trying to carve out territories, narco-backed mutants attempting takeovers. But the government did something surprisingly smart: instead of alienating mutants, they ran a psyop that made them more acceptable. They used earth-powered mutants to find resources, others to strengthen the military. One mutant even became a state governor.
So many mutants joined the Mutant Division of the Army, taking the fight to the warlords in unpopulated areas. Life for regular citizens went on relatively undisturbed.
Knowing all this, my first priority was staying hidden. To keep people like Xavier from finding me, I created an Alpha-level power called Existence Shield. Its sole function is to protect me from mind-reading, mind control, reality warping directed at my body, timeline erasure, future sight, and the like. Even now, I don't know its full extent.
I'd thought Alpha powers were weaker than Omega-level, but that's not quite right. All Omega-level abilities are Alpha-level—they're just abilities that can grow in ways that are difficult to understand, becoming stronger with time.
With Existence Shield, I was never found—not even when the X-Men were sighted in Ecuador years ago. I lived a normal life as a teenager, gathering enough energy over time to create my first Omega-level power.
I'd already planned templates based on characters to maximize my potential. I chose Kizaru over Gojo Satoru—Kizaru's abilities wouldn't be out of place here, and they wouldn't introduce unintended consequences like cursed spirits into the universe.
I gained a superhuman physique surpassing Spider-Man's, light-based powers matching the Pika Pika no Mi in its awakened state, all three Haki, and even the Six Powers.
During college, I became an independent mutant contractor for the government. They gave me missions—taking out warlords, drug outposts, intervening in battles—and paid well. All in all, a good life. Luckily, the world doesn't pay much attention to news from Ecuador, so I remained relatively unknown.
Just a few days ago, I gathered enough energy for another Omega-level ability. I used it on a Bartholomew Kuma template, raising my strength to rival the Hulk's base level. The Paw-Paw Fruit's conceptual "repel" ability is a real steal—in its awakened state, I can develop all sorts of applications.
Another aspect: my power creates templates based on the most powerful version of the character I've seen or theorized. I'm completely unable to create reality-warping powers like Wanda's or Franklin Richards'—but honestly, that's not so bad, considering the suffering their powers brought them.
I arrived at the battlefield in New York a bit after the invasion started. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't just the Avengers handling it.
Shocker. Of course other capes would defend against an otherworldly incursion. I even saw a few villains like Graviton and Magneto joining in. Not a huge number, but significantly more than just seven Avengers.
All of a sudden, a huge structure appeared in the sky—a large matte-black castle with subtle Gothic themes, glitching occasionally before disappearing completely.
"Ahhh. Of all the times for the Convergence to occur… You Midgardians are truly unlucky," Loki said, still clashing with Thor and Hawkeye.
The Convergence? Wasn't that supposed to happen in the future? Ah, doesn't matter. Marvel continuity was never easy to follow. Just roll with it.
I spotted a Chitauri grunt about to finish off a SHIELD agent trapped under rubble. Instantly, I accelerated at light speed, appearing behind it in less than a millisecond. A blade of light formed in my hand, and I cleaved its head from its neck.
I dug the agent out from the rubble—he was still coherent, still alive. I studied him for a moment, skeptical. Any one of them could be HYDRA. But after a second, I decided to save him.
"Hey, hold on tight. I'm sending you to a hospital."
The Paw-Paw Fruit activated in my palm. I slapped his body, sending him accelerating at the speed of sound toward a still-functional hospital in Chicago.
This power is incredibly versatile. I can already see countless applications. More than that—it's a power that could make me close to a perfect hero.
This power saves lives.
I can send people to safety instantly, take their pain and injuries by pushing it out of them, even push out memories if I choose.
When I decided on this template, I didn't think much of it. I just thought it would be neat. Now I understand.
From that brief interaction, I understood why Ivankov called Kuma "The Hand of Liberation."
This power lets me save and rescue people effortlessly. With this, I'm almost untouchable—because nobody fucks with the White Mage.
I continued my duty, ignoring most of the fighting. I flashed across the battlefield, transporting people to safety or pushing their pain into nearby invaders.
This went on until a huge explosion echoed through the chaos.
I whipped my head toward it so fast my neck should have snapped. Floating above a fallen Leviathan was a human figure, and behind him—
Gold.
"Is that the fucking Gates of Babylon?! What is wrong with this verse?!" I screamed, pulling my hair in frustration.
The Gilgamesh expy turned his head toward me with a warm smile.
"Ahhh, there you are. I've been looking for you."