ALL NOVEL 3. The Plan
"I can't sleep."
Pietro tossed and turned on the sofa. If it were the old him, he would have continued to wallow in despair, blaming all the bad things in his life on fate. But after hearing the information Alex had shared with him, he couldn't calm down.
He turned over, curling up as he spoke.
"Alex, can you tell me more about those multiverse stories?"
Alex glanced at him and couldn't help but shake his head. For people of this world, the more they understood the world, the more hopeless they became. It was hard to imagine that Pietro, at such a young age, had already endured such a tragic life.
After a moment of contemplation, Alex began to speak.
"Let me tell you about one of the biggest crises the Avengers faced after their formation. It was called 'Age of Ultron.' But before this, I'll tell you about an event from one of the multiverses, where that universe was still reeling from the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. after it was infiltrated by Hydra."
"After the alien invasion of New York, Hydra agents secretly took Loki's scepter. At the time, no one knew that the gem embedded in the scepter was the Mind Stone, one of the six legendary Infinity Stones."
"Hydra then began extensive human experiments, hoping to unlock the secrets of the Mind Stone's power. Ultimately, only a pair of twins survived the experiment. Their names were Wanda and Pietro, another universe's version of you. But Hydra didn't know that your powers weren't granted by the Mind Stone; they were inherent, with the Mind Stone merely acting as a catalyst."
Pietro listened quietly, not surprised that Alex mentioned his name. It wasn't the first time Alex had told him such stories, and Pietro had gradually accepted that in most parallel universes, he had a sister named 'Wanda.'
However, in this world, Pietro had no relation to the Scarlet Witch who betrayed the Avengers. In Pietro's memory, that person never existed. Alex continued his story, describing how Tony Stark, driven by anxiety, created Ultron and how the final battle between Ultron's army and the Avengers unfolded.
". . . To protect a child, Hawkeye reluctantly returned to the battlefield. But Ultron wasn't going to let him go. Ultron piloted a jet straight towards Hawkeye and the child, bullets raining down. Just when Hawkeye thought he was going to die, a silver figure sped by."
"The next moment, Hawkeye felt himself being moved by a force. When he came to, he and the boy had been moved behind cover, while outside, Quicksilver's body was riddled with bullets."
"'You didn't see that coming?' Quicksilver's tone was still light hearted. Those were his last words in that universe."
Hearing this, Pietro couldn't help but smile. "That does sound like something I'd do. If that were my end, it wouldn't be a bad way to go."
"Maybe."
"At least he died with purpose, like a real hero, unlike me. I'm just waiting to die in some dark alley or get caught and thrown back into a mutant prison, losing my freedom and never seeing the light of day again," Pietro murmured.
Looking at Quicksilver, Alex said, "Get some sleep. I'll get you out of here."
Night fell.
Alex and Pietro drove along the coastal highway, heading for their destination: the mutant prison in Texas. They needed to cross New Jersey and Washington D.C. before reaching Texas.
After escaping from prison, Quicksilver had ran all the way to New York, almost traversing the entire country. Initially, he planned to keep running out of the country, but due to his superpowers, he nearly starved to death along the way.
Alex was driving while Pietro slept in the trunk. Given his sensitive status, if anyone recognized him, he'd be as good as dead. Moreover, he couldn't use his superpowers carelessly. If President X detected them, it would spell disaster for both of them.
After some discussion, they decided to steal a nearby car and money. In another world, Alex would never have done this, as it would surely draw the attention of various authorities.
But in this world, the global order was on the brink of collapse. The country was plagued by internal and external troubles, and if not for fear of President X, it would have fallen apart long ago. In such a chaotic environment, street murders were commonplace. Stealing a car? No one but the owner would care.
As he drove, Alex kept calculating his next moves.
Trying to steal from President X's secret chamber was too dangerous, as Quicksilver's fate had demonstrated. The most critical issue was Professor X's bug-like superpowers.
If he were to lock onto them and control them, all their plans would be foiled. Although Beast didn't build a Cerebro for President X in this world, President X was still very powerful, especially against someone as ordinary as Alex.
So, they needed a big distraction to divert President X's attention, making him too busy to focus on them. Unfortunately, in this world, the Avengers were all dead, and there were no other heroes left.
If there were, they could serve as bait, increasing their chances of success. To create a significant distraction, they needed to choose the right method.
A gang riot? Too small.
Border unrest? Still too small.
They needed something bigger, something earth-shattering, preferably something that could trigger the next world war.
Only then would President X, who hadn't shown himself in ages, come out in person to handle the situation. However, achieving this wouldn't be easy.
Initially, Alex considered the Kree prisoners. After being hit by nuclear bombs, they were imprisoned by President X, thousands of them confined to a radioactive desert. If anyone held a grudge against President X and had the ability to seek revenge, the Kree would be the first on the list.
Honestly, Alex found the Kree's fate quite tragic. Not just in this universe, but in most, nuclear bombs seemed to be incredibly destructive.
Yet, despite their immense power, nuclear bombs appeared to be Earth's exclusive trump card. Other planets, no matter how advanced their technology, whether they had star fleets or laser guns, couldn't seem to create nuclear bombs.
It was as if each planet had its own technology tree, and nuclear bombs were a unique skill of Earth, possessing a universal 'one-of-a-kind' skill.
Take the Kree, for example. They came with the intention of wiping out Earth's civilization, but the next moment, they were exposed to the radiation from Galactus's corpse. Their portal closed, their cloaking failed, and the entire fleet was revealed within Earth's range. They couldn't run, hide, or defend. They could only watch as countless nuclear warheads approached.
While releasing the Kree would certainly draw President X's attention, Alex eventually abandoned this plan. For one, the Kree had been exposed to radiation for so long that their current combat abilities were questionable. Moreover, that desolate place was inaccessible without protective gear, and it was heavily guarded. Even if the Kree were released, they'd likely be quickly subdued, which wasn't what Alex wanted.
After discussing this with Pietro, Alex decided to target the mutant prison, where over a hundred mutants were suffering daily in their cells. Maybe mutant abilities were a form of evolution, but to ordinary people, mutants were ticking time bombs. If these bombs were released and they all had a common enemy, President X, it would certainly cause him a lot of trouble to subdue all of them.
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5. The Damned World
6. The Next Stop
7. The White Queen
8. Already Dead.