Chapter 1: The Last Spoiler
The rain in London wasn't like the rain in the movies. It wasn't dramatic or cinematic; it was a cold, miserable drizzle that soaked through Arthur's hoodie as he stepped out of the midnight screening of the latest Marvel marathon.
Arthur was a "lore-hound." He knew every Easter egg, every deleted scene, and every obscure comic book tie-in. To him, the MCU was a puzzle he'd solved a thousand times.
"Watch out!"
A shout, the screech of tires on wet asphalt, and the blinding glare of high beams. Arthur didn't even have time to drop his popcorn. There was a sickening thud, a flash of white heat, and then... silence.
[ ARCHIVIST PROTOCOL INITIALIZING... ][ HOST SOUL SCANNED: 100% MATCH ][ LOCATION: NEW JERSEY, USA ][ YEAR: 1941 ]
Arthur's eyes snapped open. He wasn't in London. He was lying on a thin, moth-eaten mattress in a room that smelled of stale tobacco and industrial floor wax.
"Get up, Recruit! You're burning daylight!"
A heavy boot kicked the base of his metal cot. Arthur scrambled up, his head spinning. Standing over him was a man in an olive-drab uniform with sergeant stripes on his arm.
1941? Arthur thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. No. This is a dream. A very vivid, very cold dream.
He looked down at his hands. They were his hands, but... different. Calloused. Rough. He felt a strange weight in his mind, like a library of files he hadn't opened yet. Suddenly, a translucent blue screen flickered into existence in his vision.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Welcome, Archivist. You have been placed at the "Root of the Tree."
Current Objective: Survive the Recruitment Screening.
Reward for Success: Physical Synchronization.
"Did you hear me, son? Or did the Nazis scramble your brains before you even got to Lehigh?" the Sergeant barked.
Arthur looked around the barracks. This wasn't just any camp. He recognized the layout from The First Avenger. This was Camp Lehigh.
"Sorry, Sergeant," Arthur said, his voice sounding deeper, steadier. "Just... getting my bearings."
"Well, get 'em outside. Dr. Erskine is looking for the 'special' batch. Why he picked a scrawny kid from the Bronx like Rogers and a daydreamer like you, I'll never know."
Steve Rogers. The name hit Arthur like a lightning bolt. He wasn't just in the past; he was in the story. And if he was in the story, he knew exactly what was coming. He knew about the car bomb. He knew about the assassin in the lab. He knew about the seventy years Steve would spend under the ice.
As he walked out onto the muddy parade ground, he saw him. A small, frail young man with blond hair, struggling to adjust his oversized helmet. Steve Rogers looked like a stiff breeze could blow him over.
Beside Steve, another blue screen appeared:
[ TARGET: STEVE ROGERS ]
[ STATUS: CANON DESTINY — HEROISM / TRAGIC LOSS / TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT ]
[ DIVERGENCE CHANCE: 99.9% ]
Arthur felt a surge of adrenaline that didn't feel human. He realized then that he wasn't just a spectator anymore. He had a System, he had the knowledge of twenty-three movies, and he had a chance to prevent the tragedies that defined the century.
"Arthur!" Steve called out, nodding to the empty spot in line next to him. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Arthur stepped into line, standing straight. "Not a ghost, Steve," he whispered, a grim smile forming on his face. "Just the future."
[ QUEST UPDATED ]
Goal: Complete the 5-mile run in the top 1%.
Current Rank: 52/52.
System Note: Use 'Initial Stimulus' to boost AGI? (Y/N)
Arthur didn't hesitate. He mentally hit [Y].
His muscles suddenly hummed with a low-voltage electricity. The world seemed to slow down just a fraction. He looked at the Sergeant, at the flag at the top of the pole, and at the road ahead.
The MCU was about to break, and Arthur was the one holding the hammer.