A.I.M., Hydra, Apocalypse, Master
Mold, Ultron, the Kree, Hel and Loki. All the major threats to Earth were taken
care of. With A.I.M. turning into S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Kree relations starting
to smooth out there was a lot of reforming going on. For the first time in a
long time, people across the globe weren’t afraid of stepping out of their
homes. Children could play outside without the danger of some supervillain
kidnapping them for ransom. I couldn’t help but take pride in what we’d
accomplished over what was almost a year. But… this new age of hope had on more
obstacle in its path before it could fully be realized. Galactus, destroyer of
worlds was fast approaching with the defeat of Loki. A veritable force of
nature, I knew that once he started the process to devour the Earth I couldn’t
do it alone.
Thankfully, with the friends and
allies I made, that wouldn’t be an issue. All of Genosha was prepared to fight
for the planet alongside A.I.M. and I. The four heralds; Terrax, Stardust,
Firelord and Air-Walker, weren’t prepared for the forces we had amassed. I
split up the New Avengers to lead the different assaults on the four heralds as
I took Psyche and Alice with me to space to meet the destroyer himself. What he
wanted was fairly simple. A meal. The problem was that a “meal” for him consisted
of a relatively healthy planet. Earth fit this description even after years of
abuse from a myriad of villains.
He saw no need to speak with those
that would soon have to find a new home world and sent his machines to either
dispose of or keep us busy. But before they could try to even touch us, storm
clouds formed in a vacuum of space, and lightning struck all of Galactus’
machines down. This respite was all we needed to try talking with the world
eater again. Captain Mar-Vell had access to the Kree’s knowledge of the universe
and was able to find a list of uninhabited planets for Galactus to consume. If
we could get him there before his hunger would eat him from the inside,
Galactus agreed to spare the Earth for now.
Before I could attempt to teleport
Galactus myself and risk suicide, Alice communed with Agamotto and was granted
his power for the first time, becoming Sorceror Supreme proper. With her
newfound power, opening a portal for Galactus to travel through was possible.
Using Psyche to link her mind to Captain Mar-Vell’s, she sent Galactus away to
sate his hunger and the Earth was saved. We returned to the surface triumphant,
but there was a sadness permeating the atmosphere. It didn’t take long for my
ticket to the dimension I was supposed to be in to appear. A person sized
portal opened up near me and I had no choice but to take it. Everyone said
their goodbyes, starting with Leo.
“Can’t
believe it hasn’t even been a year since I met you. Feels like I’ve known you
way longer. I’m not good at this so… take care, and don’t get yourself killed
ok? We’ve got things under control here.”
He took my hand for what I thought
would be a handshake and instead pulled me into a hug. Leo rustled my hair with
one of his hands like I was his younger brother as I returned the unexpected
hug. I was released to find Psyche waiting for her turn next.
“You’ve
done too much for us without anything in return. I really wish we could have
done something to thank you for bringing us all together. Please, take care of
yourself out there. We know how reckless you can be, don’t make the people
close to you worry.”
She gave me a soft hug before
letting Bruce have his turn. He looked into my eyes, and somehow I knew what he
would have said if he had spoken. We bowed to each other and he let Sora come
up. There were tears in her eyes as the winds suddenly picked up and pushed me
into her arms.
“Why
are you leaving so soon? Do you know how much we’re going to miss you? Who else
is going to lead us once you leave? Can’t you just stay here for a bit longer?”
She went on like that for a little
while, not giving me a chance to speak until she had tired herself out. She
sniffled a bit as she let me go and Shock stepped up.
“I don’t
even know where to start with this. You saved me from Hydra, saved my… mother
from Ultron and gave me the chance to live like an actual person. Words just
can’t describe how grateful I am to you. Wherever it is you’re going, I wish
you the best.”
I took Shock’s hand and shook it,
pretending not to notice that he was beginning to tear up like Sora. He wiped
his eyes as Simon ushered him back to the others before saying his own last
words.
“I
would have never expected things would turn out this way. I go from a pawn of
M.O.D.O.K. to an Avenger all because of a few words and some electricity you
threw at me. Now I’ve even helped save the world and you’re leaving. You
already know how much we’ll miss you, but we’ve learned plenty with you in
command. I don’t know how well we’ll do at first but you better believe we’ll
be giving it everything we’ve got. You keep yourself in one piece without us
ok?”
He placed a hand on one of my
shoulders and gave me a nod of approval. The only ones left to say goodbye were
Alice and Karen. Alice stepped forward and sighed before looking into my eyes.
“You
were some kind of stupid when we met and I still think you’re some kind of
stupid now, but in a different sense. Words can’t even begin to describe how
frustrated you’ve made me on so many occasions that it baffles me to think that
I’ll probably never stop missing you. Despite how dumb you can be, I know your
hearts always in the right place, even when you’re making women cry… I don’t
want you to leave, but I know you can’t be happy until you’re with the ones you
left behind to come here. Just do me a favor for the Alice where you come from and
tell her how you see her. For both our sakes.”
She pulled me into a gentle hug
that I returned, feeling a few tears run onto my shoulder. When we broke away
from each other, I couldn’t see any trace of it on her face though. I assume
she was trying to save face in front of everyone as she’d likely be the next
leader.
Finally, it was Karen’s turn to
leave me with her final words. Her face was a torrent of emotions leading up to
this moment, but when the time came I couldn’t tell what she was feeling or
thinking. As she walked towards me I couldn’t help but feel an ache in my heart
at the thought of what she might say. While I was busy wondering what she would
say I was left open and unprepared for what would come next. Without warning,
she held my head and pulled me into a kiss before I could really process what
was happening. I think I heard a few surprised gasps, but I can’t be sure.
Almost everything else but the kiss during that moment is lost to time.
When she pulled back to release me
I was speechless, giving her the opportunity to speak.
“I know
that was selfish of me, but I couldn’t let you leave without trying. Go make
the Karen you fell in love with happy ok? She deserves it.”
With the time it took for the kiss
to end and her to say that everyone from the A.I.M. staff to Captain Mar-Vel
and even Thor and Amora had somehow gathered to see me off. They were cheering
loudly and trying to reassure me that everything would be ok even though I was
leaving. With a gently shove, Karen pushed me towards the portal and before I
knew it I was through it and in a New York that hadn’t been ravaged by years of
super powered inflicted strife. More specifically, I was in the entrance to a
mansion in New York. My mansion. All of my companions were standing there, as
if they were waiting for me and I couldn’t help buy shed a tear as I said,
“I’m back everyone. I’m finally
home.”
The next nine years passed without
much fanfare. Yes there were villains to fight, threats to the planet that
needed to be stopped and other super heroes that we had clashes of ideals with.
But… I couldn’t quite get my mind into it fully, and I often thought about how
the world I left was doing. Talking to my actual companions again after so long
without being able to contact them was strange at first since I kept
overlapping their histories with their counterparts’, but I eventually was able
to get a hold of myself in regards to that. Still I… I haven’t quite been able
to look Karen in the eye sometimes as thoughts of the other one slip into my
thoughts. I was able to have a long talk with Alice however, to set the record
straight on a lot of things.
As it stands I still have a ways to
go before I’m ready. The next jump I just want to relieve this stress that I’ve
been building. Maybe I’ll be able to do that for ten years.
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