Asgard. The Golden Realm.
"OH-OH-OH!"
A roar like thunder shook the golden foundations of the palace. Tens of thousands of Asgardians raised their voices in unison, their cheers echoing across the land of the gods.
High upon the throne of Hlidskjalf, Odin Allfather looked down with a rare, fleeting warmth in his single eye. Below him stood Thor, basking in the adoration of his people, Mjolnir raised high in triumph.
Today, his firstborn, the God of Thunder, was to be crowned King of Asgard.
Odin rose from the throne. He struck the base of Gungnir, the Eternal Spear, against the floor.
THOOM!
The reverberation silenced the hall instantly.
"Thor Odinson," Odin's voice boomed. "My heir."
In the shadows of the dais, Loki lowered his gaze at the word heir. He schooled his features, refusing to let the court see the bitterness flickering in his eyes.
And then, a flash of impossible light severed reality.
In the blink of an eye, Loki vanished. He didn't fade; he was simply deleted from the space.
...What?
Odin's eye widened. His grip on Gungnir tightened until his knuckles turned white.
As a Skyfather-level deity, the King of the Nine Realms processed the event instantly: This was no invisibility spell, nor was it a standard teleportation weave. Loki was gone without a trace, bypassed by a force that left no magical signature.
Who?
Who possessed the power to snatch a Prince of Asgard from directly under the nose of the Allfather?
The silence broke as the hall erupted into chaos.
"Where is Prince Loki? He's gone!"
"By Odin's beard, what just happened?"
"Loki?"
Thor lowered his hammer, looking left and right, his face a mask of confusion rather than anger. He knew his brother loved mischief, but to pull a prank during the Coronation? Even Loki wasn't that foolish.
Before the confusion could settle, a colossal holographic screen materialized in the center of the Great Hall, hovering ominously above the heads of the gods.
Earth. Kamar-Taj.
High in the Himalayas, a group of novices practiced their arts in the courtyard.
"The mastery of the Sling Ring is essential..."
Master Mordo walked among the students, correcting their forms, before frowning slightly. While others were beginning to spark the orange embers of a portal, one apprentice—Stephen Strange—stood staring at his trembling hands, having produced nothing.
The doors opened, and the Ancient One, radiating an aura of serene power, stepped into the sunlight.
"I wish to speak with Mr. Strange alone."
Strange looked at the Sorcerer Supreme, shrugging helplessly as he displayed his scarred, shaking fingers. "It's my hands, they simply won't—"
The Ancient One's gaze was unreadable. "It has nothing to do with your hands."
Before she could finish her lesson, the light flashed again.
Stephen Strange vanished into thin air.
"!!!"
The Ancient One's pupils contracted. The mask of eternal calm shattered instantly.
Mordo flinched, startled. "Sorcerer Supreme? Did you... send him to the Everest peak again?"
The Ancient One raised a hand, silencing him. Her brow furrowed deeply. Strange had been taken. Plucked from existence by a method she could not identify.
But what truly chilled the Sorcerer Supreme was not the abduction itself. It was the fact that she had peered into Strange's future countless times using the Eye of Agamotto.
This event was not in the timeline.
What force was this? Had an entity arrived that possessed power surpassing even the Time Stone?
Above the courtyard, a massive screen flickered into existence.
Airspace over Afghanistan.
A private jet cut through the clouds. Inside the opulent cabin, the air smelled of expensive scotch.
Tony Stark shook his head, fighting the fog of alcohol. Beside him, Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes was already passed out on the leather sofa.
Tony rubbed his temples. Once they landed, he had a Jerich Missle demonstration to conduct. If all went to plan, Stark Industries was looking at another record-breaking contract.
He reached for a glass of water. A flash of light.
Tony Stark disappeared from the cabin, leaving only the hum of the jet engines behind.
The White Void.
In a space that defied geometry, four men stood blinking in confusion.
The transition had been instant. One moment, they were scattered across the globe (and the cosmos); the next, they were standing in a featureless white room.
Tony Stark looked around, his brow furrowing as he took in his companions.
To his left was a middle-aged man in monk robes (Strange). To his right, a nervous-looking teenager, maybe eighteen, clutching a backpack and wearing thick-rimmed glasses (Peter Parker).
But the third guy was the weirdest. He looked like he'd walked off the set of a Shakespeare play—green cape, leather armor, and a helmet with two massive, curved golden horns.
Tony shrugged, his billionaire confidence overriding his confusion.
"Alright. Whoever you are, kidnapping me out of a moving jet? That's impressive. You have my respect." Tony smoothed his suit jacket. "So, give me the number. How much is the ransom?"
He looked around the white void, genuinely curious. "And how did you do it? Teleportation tech? Quantum phasing?"
The mention of technology seemed to sober him up instantly. His eyes gleamed with engineering lust. "If this is a new tech, forget the ransom. I'll buy the patent. Name your price."
"Tony Stark."
Stephen Strange, currently just a failed surgeon turned novice mystic, sneered. "You are exactly as arrogant as the tabloids say."
Strange adjusted his robes. "Your money is useless here. This isn't technology. This is magic."
Strange was familiar with Stark—everyone was. But having witnessed the reality-bending power of the Ancient One, Strange was no longer impressed by mere money. He assumed they had been ensnared by some rogue sorcerer.
"Magic?"
Loki stepped back, eyeing Strange warily. "What kind of magic?"
The God of Mischief was calculating rapidly. To pull him from Asgard, from directly beside Odin... the caster had to be powerful. Terrifyingly so.
"What are you talking about?" Tony scowled, looking at Strange like he belonged in an asylum. "I'm a scientist. Magic is just unexplained science. Don't give me that fairy tale crap."
"Kidnapping...?"
The teenager with the glasses, Peter Parker, stood with his mouth agape.
Peter's day had been awful. He'd been shoved into a locker by Flash Thompson at school. He thought that was rock bottom. Now he was in a white void.
But he was stuck on what the goatee man had said.
Tony Stark?
Peter squinted at the billionaire. Who is that?
World's richest man? Don't make me laugh.
I've never heard that name in my life.
Before anyone could speak further, a mechanical, genderless voice resonated from every direction at once, vibrating in their very bones.
[DIMENSIONAL LIVESTREAM SYSTEM: ONLINE]
[LINKING MARVEL MULTIVERSE...]
[PARTICIPANT DETECTED: STEPHEN STRANGE]
[PARTICIPANT DETECTED: LOKI ODINSON]
[PARTICIPANT DETECTED: TONY STARK]
[PARTICIPANT DETECTED: PETER PARKER]
[PROTOCOL INITIATED: The System will randomly broadcast major historical events from the Past and Future of the Marvel Multiverse.]
[At the conclusion of the broadcast, a Question & Answer session will commence. Correct answers will be rewarded with Livestream Points and Random Perks.]
[Livestream Points may be exchanged for insights into one's own future.]
[Broadcast imminent.]
[FIRST FEATURE: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR]
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