SHIELD'S HIDDEN HAND
Marcus Reid dies on Earth , and wakes up thirteen years in the past inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marcus begins his new life cautiously, hiding his powers while he learns to control them and working his way up through SHIELD's ranks.
Throughout his rapid ascent, Marcus crosses paths repeatedly with Maria Hill, SHIELD's formidable second-in-command. Their relationship begins as purely professional, but years of working side by side through impossible situations forge something deeper. She is brilliant, capable, and exactly the kind of partner he never expected to find in this dangerous world. Their romance develops slowly across continents and crises, from a first kiss in Budapest to a secret wedding while they hide from government forces. She becomes the one person he trusts completely, even as he keeps the deepest secret of his reincarnation locked away forever.
Marcus cannot save everyone, and that knowledge haunts him. He arrives seconds too late to prevent some deaths, watches others unfold exactly as he remembers them, and learns that power and foreknowledge have limits. He saves Pietro Maximoff from the bullets that killed him in the original timeline, but he stands helpless on Vormir as Natasha Romanoff sacrifices herself for the Soul Stone. He fights Thanos on Titan with everything he has and loses anyway, watching half the universe crumble to dust around him. His abilities grow with each battle—energy manipulation, healing, flight, mystical arts learned from Doctor Strange—but even at his peak, he cannot prevent the Snap.
The story follows Marcus as he progresses from a cautious observer to Nick Fury's right hand, from a SHIELD insider to a wanted fugitive, from a secretly enhanced individual to an Avenger in all but name. He builds an underground network protecting enhanced individuals, coordinates the resistance against Hydra's infiltration, and prepares Earth for threats only he knows are coming. He loves fiercely, fights desperately, and sacrifices everything to protect a world that will never know how much he has done for it.
This is the story of living inside the MCU with the power to make a difference and the wisdom to know that some tragedies cannot be prevented, only endured.
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This is a slice-of-life story, so it moves slowly and focuses on everyday moments, character development, and subtle changes.