Mount Hua.
Yue Buqun stared at the results of his current training method in silence.
Then he switched.
No hesitation.
"If there's a better version," he muttered, "why would I stick with the old one?"
—
Back in Marvel's New York—
Three days passed in a blink.
The results of the global vote came in.
Two billion people.
That was how many had chosen to awaken abilities.
A staggering number.
Even with twenty thousand machines built and deployed worldwide, the scale of the task was overwhelming. But with an alien war looming, every region pushed to accelerate the process.
They needed power.
Fast.
The first batch of candidates was selected almost immediately.
"Randomized selection," they called it.
The names told a different story.
Victor Von Doom. Wilson Fisk. Tony Stark. Peter Parker…
"Yeah," Tony said dryly. "Very random."
—
Inside the White House—
The awakening machine powered down with a soft hum, its orange glow fading as Tony stepped out.
He rolled his shoulders.
"…Feels the same."
He looked toward Reed Richards.
"How long before anything actually happens?"
Reed checked his notes.
"There's an adjustment period. One to three days, most likely."
Tony sighed.
"Great. Guess I'll wait and see if I turn into something marketable."
Nearby, Wilson Fisk was already stepping forward.
"My turn," he said.
Rodriguez watched with interest.
But before Fisk could enter the machine, an agent hurried in.
"Sir—Ebony Maw reports the portal device is ready."
That stopped everything.
Fisk paused mid-step.
Rodriguez straightened.
Tony exhaled.
"…Timing's fantastic."
"If we waited a couple more days," Fisk said, "we could've had two billion enhanced humans ready to go."
Tony shook his head.
"Let's not stall an alien invasion for scheduling convenience."
He pulled up the Interdimensional Chatroom and sent a message.
Tony Stark: @Noah Vale — Portal's ready. You coming?
"Already here."
The voice came from behind him.
Tony flinched.
"…You really need to stop doing that."
Noah stood there, hands in his pockets, like he'd always been part of the room.
"Everything set?" he asked.
"Yeah," Tony said. "Portal's on top of my new tower. But why New York?"
Noah smiled faintly.
"Call it… a remake."
No one understood what that meant.
Before they could ask—
The world twisted.
In an instant, they were standing in New York.
Right in front of the portal device.
Tony blinked, glancing around.
"…Okay," he muttered. "That's new."
Noah didn't comment.
"Go ahead," he said to Ebony Maw.
The alien nodded and activated the device.
A beam of blue energy shot upward, piercing the sky. It expanded rapidly, tearing open a massive portal high above the city.
The air vibrated.
Reality bent.
And then—
Silence.
New York was empty.
Completely evacuated.
No civilians.
No traffic.
Just streets and buildings standing like a stage waiting for actors.
—
Then the actors arrived.
Four figures appeared in the middle of a deserted street.
Tony Stark.
Older.
Worn.
Beside him stood Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, and Scott Lang.
They looked around, confusion setting in almost immediately.
"…Why is it so quiet?" Scott asked.
Banner scanned the area.
"No civilians. No damage. This isn't right."
Tony looked up.
And froze.
The portal.
The invasion.
Everything was happening—
But not the way they remembered.
"We're in the wrong timeline," Steve said.
Tony shook his head.
"Not wrong. Parallel."
He spoke quickly, piecing it together.
"This isn't our past. It's another version of it. Close—but different."
Scott frowned.
"So… everything we know might not apply?"
"Exactly."
Tony's expression hardened.
"FRIDAY," he said. "Run a comparison. Cross-reference historical deviations."
A calm voice responded.
"Running analysis."
Moments later—
"I've identified significant differences," FRIDAY reported. "This version of Earth includes additional populations—mutants, enhanced humans, and other non-baseline groups."
The four exchanged looks.
"That's… new," Banner said.
FRIDAY continued.
"Major divergence began approximately three months ago, following the appearance of an individual identified as Noah Vale."
Tony blinked.
"…Who?"
A projection appeared in front of them.
Clips. Events. Data.
A timeline.
And at the center of it—
One man.
Noah Vale.
Tony watched as the information unfolded, his expression shifting from curiosity to disbelief.
"…I got appointed what?" he muttered.
Steve didn't answer.
He was too busy staring at the scale of it.
Global control.
Unified leadership.
Power beyond anything they'd seen.
All tied to one name.
Then—
A sound.
A deep, thunderous impact.
The sky lit up.
They looked up just in time to see the Chitauri fleet—
Explode.
Ships shattered mid-flight, torn apart in seconds.
No missiles.
No visible weapons.
Just—
Gone.
"What did that?" Scott asked, stunned.
FRIDAY answered calmly.
"That was Noah Vale."
—
Above the city—
The invasion had already begun.
And already—
It was losing.
...
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