Ioannou Residence, Queens, New York City, New York.
One Year After the Events That Would Form the Avengers.
Earth-813.
"It's time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" said a familiar female voice, pulling me out of my pleasant dreams.
I forced my eyes open. The faint light of dawn coming through the window she had opened made me cover my face with my hand for a moment. I let my pupils adjust to the light, gave a small yawn, then removed the blanket from over me and got out of bed.
"Why all this talking so early?" I said, my voice still sleepy.
"It's simple, my dear brother—today you return to your studies! What a special day," said my sister Helena excitedly.
She was quite tall for average standards, with messy blonde hair from sleep, blue eyes, and full lips.
Her clothing was nothing more than a plain gray pajama set, leaving her chest quite noticeable.
"Special day, my ass..." I muttered under my breath.
"Enough with that gloomy face. Go get dressed while I prepare our breakfast," Helena said as she hurried out of the room, leaving me with a little privacy in my own bedroom.
I walked to the wardrobe, grabbing a red plaid shirt, a pair of jeans, and finally a gray sweater. I took off my pajamas, leaving them on the bed, and then put on the clothes I had picked. I left the room and headed toward the bathroom, which was quite large, brushed my teeth as quickly as possible, and looked at the mirror.
Short black hair, blue eyes, and an average build. I wasn't drop-dead handsome, but I wasn't ugly either. On the other hand, my sister made many women feel jealous of her appearance.
It made it seem like we weren't really siblings, but as far back as I can remember she has always been by my side. Our parents died in a car accident, so I really don't know anything about them—after all, I was only four months old at the time. Since then, my sister has taken care of me.
That reminded me: it has been fourteen years since I reincarnated in this world.
During the first months I didn't have my memories. Only when I turned four did they begin to return—but not all at once. Over the years they gradually came back, and by the time I was eleven they had fully returned. The memories I received included my family, ordinary life experiences, academic knowledge, and most importantly, knowledge about the world I was in.
With the academic knowledge I had, I was ahead of everyone else in my class at school. That doesn't mean it made me a genius—far from it.
I left the bathroom and headed toward the dining room where my sister was finishing breakfast and placing everything on the table. I sat down at the table, looking at the mini banquet set before me. It practically had everything I liked: fried eggs, fried bacon, honey pancakes, and more.
"Did you wake up inspired today?" I asked while grabbing two strips of bacon and placing them on my plate, followed by a fried egg.
"Special occasions call for special days," Helena replied as she sat beside me, also grabbing two strips of bacon.
"Hmph!"
I grumbled while putting the bacon in my mouth—it was delicious. Helena gave me a disapproving look, but I ignored it and focused on the bacon, which, as I said, was delicious. Not that I hated school—far from it—but with my knowledge it was boring to sit through classes about things I already knew. The only class that broke my boredom was physical education.
"Hey, want to watch a little TV?" Helena asked.
I nodded. Helena got up, walked to the TV, turned it on, and switched to WJBP-TV, a very famous news channel in New York.
"Seriously? A news channel?"
"It's always good to know the daily news," she replied, sitting down beside me again.
The screen flickered and the WJBP-TV intro quickly appeared before cutting to the studio anchor.
(Good morning. We interrupt our programming to bring exclusive information about the attack that occurred today in downtown New York. Witnesses claim the incident involved the infamous supervillain group known as the Masters of Evil, led by Baron Zemo, against the Avengers.)
It cut again to shaky cellphone footage showing destroyed buildings and people running. Explosions lit up the street while a figure wearing a tight green and blue suit stood on top of a building, manipulating water and redirecting it in a blast toward a man in red and yellow armor. The footage then cut to someone who looked like a prisoner wearing only pants, holding a metal ball attached to a chain. The strangest thing was that his skin looked like metal as he fought against a Viking wielding a hammer emanating electricity.
(Now we turn to our reporter Megan McLaren, who is on the scene.)
The image switched to a blonde reporter holding a microphone, with sirens echoing in the background.
(We are here in Times Square, where a devastating battle took place just minutes ago. Cars have been overturned, streetlights have fallen, and traffic is completely blocked. Despite the Avengers' efforts, the supervillain group known as the Masters of Evil managed to escape after yet another defeat. But one question remains: why are they attacking? Revenge? Or something more? I am Megan McLaren, and I will not rest until I find the truth. Now back to the studio.)
Yes, I am in the Marvel Universe.
When I first realized what universe I was in, I panicked for an hour.
A million possibilities ran through my head. There are infinite universes in the Marvel multiverse, and the chances that I had been reborn in a doomed universe were very high. What do I mean by a doomed universe? Simple—one where Earth is destroyed by an alien invasion, or a zombie virus spreads rapidly across the world, or in even worse cases, the universe itself is destroyed by a higher entity.
Infinite universes, infinite possibilities...
"Menelaus Ioannou!" Helena's shout snapped me out of my thoughts.
Menelaus Ioannou was the name I received in this new life, an inheritance from my father's Greek side.
"I hate it when you get lost in that little world inside your head."
"Sorry..." I said, embarrassed, knowing full well this happened quite often.
"Ah, forget it. The bus will be here soon. Go grab your backpack while I finish eating the rest," she sighed.
I got up from the table and headed back to my room, quickly grabbing my backpack from the corner before returning to the dining room. I walked up to Helena, waiting for my good-luck kiss.
"Aren't you a little too old for this?" she said with an amused tone. Even so, she leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
"Good luck, little brother. And be careful, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said as confidently as possible before going outside to wait for the bus.
After a few minutes, I saw the classic yellow school bus from American movies approaching. I raised my arm to signal the vehicle, which stopped about two meters away from me. The bus door opened and I stepped inside, greeting the driver.
"Good morning, Menelaus. How were your vacations?" the driver asked. We had become friendly since I started studying at this school.
"You know well, Benjamin—they were good... until today," I replied with a tired tone, making him laugh.
"Now head to the back. I still need to pick up a few more students."
I obeyed and walked to the back of the bus, sitting on the left side as the bus began moving again. For the next twenty minutes I sat there watching more students get picked up until we finally arrived at our destination.
The famous Midtown High School, one of the most iconic stages in the Marvel Universe.
"Everyone out!" Benjamin shouted.
In a chaotic rush, everyone left the bus, with me being the last one. As soon as my feet touched the grass, my view was taken by the massive school where I had started studying less than a year ago. When I found out I would study here, I tried with all my strength to convince my sister to transfer me to another school, because I knew very well that this place tended to become a recurring stage for supervillain attacks—especially involving Spider-Man, who had appeared two years ago.
I sighed softly, knowing I couldn't avoid the inevitable. Gathering my courage, I took the first step toward the school entrance. The interior was packed with teenagers of different ethnicities running around, talking, and doing everything typical of a busy high school.
I walked to my locker and stored the books and materials that weren't necessary for the first class.
"TRRRRIIIING!"
The moment I closed the locker, the bell echoed throughout the school, signaling the beginning of the first class: History.
I walked through the corridors until I reached the history classroom. As usual, I was the first to arrive. I sat in the first row beside the window, which gave me a view of the field.
It didn't take long for the rest of the class to enter, and soon the room was filled with students.
I had the feeling today was going to be a long day.