POV Thanos
3 Weeks Before The War Declaration Between The Federation And Synthetic Queen...
I place the third gem into the gauntlet and feel the increase in power. But it was less than I was hoping.
Thanos: "I have gathered 3 of you, but it seems that the power you claimed is not as great as you promised."
Gem: "Patience. I told you that we cannot give you the power you want without the complete set. Like the Infinity Stones, which I know you know don't exist anymore, we can still help you get what you want. You just have to collect the last 3. But unfortunately, the remaining gems will be very difficult to obtain."
I narrow my eyes at the comment.
Thanos: "Why will they be difficult to obtain?"
Gem: "Only 1 gem is left in this Universe. And it is in the possession of Ego the Living Planet."
Thanos: "That... Might make it difficult, but I can make a deal with him. We have worked together before. I will just need to convince him that the gem is useless to him."
Gem: "Which it is. He has tried to use it but has failed. As you have observed, alone, we are not that great, and our power only grows if more are collected. The Gems in the other Universe are the real issue."
Thanos: "In what way?"
Gem: "Getting there in the first place is difficult, but the real issue is that I can sense the other gems have wielders already. One of which you cannot easily defeat."
Thanos: "Even with your power?"
Gem: "If you have 4, then it would be possible you would perish. Or you would kill each other. Thus, you need 5 to ensure you can defeat them for certain."
Thanos: "Who are the other wielders?"
Gem: "One is a king of a Star Nation. The other is the last Avatar of the Phoenix Force. The second wielder is almost the perfect host. They have a natural talent for using the gems. But since you are our wielders, we will help you defeat them. As unlike her, you can live for many a milenia. She will die due to her human body eventually. Which can be the way to gether all the gems without fighting her."
Thanos: "But I don't have that kind of time. The Synthetic Queen will wipe out this Universe in less than a decade. And with my sources confirming the Infinity Stones either ceasing to exist or going missing, I have no other choice than you."
Gem: "Exactly. And we wish to have a great host that shows our power to the Multiverse. But first, we will need to get the last Gem from this Universe. Then we can see about creating a device allowing us to travel to the nearby Universe."
I get in contact with Ego and see if we can make a deal.
Ego: "Thanos? Why have you contacted me?"
Thanos: "I want something you own. I am here to make a deal."
Ego: "You make a deal? With me? What do you want?"
Thanos: "A Purple Star Shaped Gem. It looks like this."
I show him a picture of the gem.
Ego: "Hmm, I indeed have such a gem. It is of little use to me, but since you want it, I will part with it. But I want something in return."
Thanos: "What do you want?"
Ego: "I have recently learned of a Human named Peter Quill or Star Lord. I want you to bring him to me. Alive and unharmed. I have hired others in the past, but they failed. I believe that you wouldn't fail to capture a single human."
Thanos: "Where is he?"
Ego: "On Sakaar. I can not retrieve him myself as the Synthetic Queen has been getting too close as of late, so if you don't want this gem to fall into her hands, I suggest you hurry."
Thanos: "We have a deal."
The call ends, and I send a message to Gamora and Nebula. I send them to capture him as I know Sakaar is a tricky place for me to go. Then I start gathering the materials needed for the device that can allow travel between Universes.
4 Weeks Later...
POV Rio
I was reading the war reports. So far, it seems that the Federation's initial advantage gained by the sneak attack has been diminished. Jotunheim has fallen, and Muspelheim is under invasion as we speak.
'Though it seems Cetana is struggling to gain much ground on Muspelheim. The Planetary Shield is a problem enough, but the only weak point in the shield is over a massive lava ocean. At least Avarice and Generosity are making a killing on all the EXP Points it has gathered.'
The Federation has pulled back most of its forces in the North and redeployed them to the South. The only fighting happening in the North is because of Ego.
'Though it seems as if no body is commiting a large amount of forces to any battlefield. Cetana is gathering a massive fleet to kill Ego. The Federation is begging us to join the war. Cetana wants us to stay neutral and has bribed us to do so.'
She sent us a massive container of data and materials. The data included numerous techs, including some that were in her fleets. The materials were not that great; most of it was food or other materials she had no use for. But it was better than what the Federation offered, and we don't have to do anything to get it. We also learned that Cetana was not responsible for the attack on the Krut Ascendancy. Instead, it was surprisingly done by the Federation to scare us and other neutral worlds into joining them.
'The idiot's plan backfired.'
We also now know what killed so many people. The Federation had a massive storage of old bio weapons. The Supreme Commander, or in other words, their president, publicly declared to get rid of them. It just so happens that an opportunity appeared to get rid of them and gain a possible ally or two. The plan did somewhat work as the Krut Ascendancy has denounced the Synthetic Queen. Not that it matters since most of their population has been wiped out.
'And they are still in a Civil War. The rebels on Sakaar have gathered a small fleet and destroyed the Synthetic Queen ship that started this mess.'
Speaking of Sakaar, the population has taken a massive nosedive due to the war. Sakaar has 3 major families that rule the different markets. Black, Grey and White. They have recently started exporting labor in massive quantities. This causes people to panic and join the Federation for protection, as the Imperium won't accept them. As they basically have two choices. Join the Federation as mercenaries and get paid, or get sold to the Federation as death troopers who have no rights and don't get paid. Or the last less feasible option. Join one of the families and pray they don't sell you anyway.
'I would feel pity for them if most of the good people were not living on Sakaar in the first place. There is a reason Sakaar is called the core of all scum and villany in the Universe. It is not a nice place. You go there for very few reasons. Almost none of them are legal or moral.'
As for Thanos, he had been waging a war against a small kingdom. My guess was that he was gathering followers and soldiers for some conquest of some kind. The Barrier was successfully put in place, and now Thanos was in all practicallity trapped in the X-Men Universe.
'And since I exist, no time travel shenanigans can be used to undo his existence there. So the X-Men can't break causality again. Just thinking of the time-traveling nonsense that happens there is giving me a headache.'
As far as I was concerned, it wasn't my problem anymore. But just because it wasn't, it didn't mean it couldn't become mine in the future. So, we were still keeping an eye on the situation. Thanos leaving also caused me to think about the strongest beings left in this Universe.
'I think I am definitely in the top ten. Likely in the top 5.'
If I had to place everyone, I would place it like so. Not including my summons or citizens.
1st: Nightmare Moon
2nd: Me
3rd: Hela
4th: Odin
5th: Ego
6th: Captain Marvel (Not Shazam)
7th: Surtur
8th: Frigga
9th: Heimdall
10th: Thor
If I included my summons, we would likely take the top ten places. Ego would be very easy to kill, as all it would need is a single Super Tier Spell. Odin will only survive one more battle. Hela is still sealed, and even when she gets out, her power is tied to Asgard, and once it is destroyed, she loses a lot of her power. Captain Marvel is not that powerful if you don't feed her energy, and she can't absorb magic very well. Surtur is only strong on his homeworld and even then he has a crippling weakness to water and ice magic. Frigga is magically strong but physically weak. Heimdall is not that strong, and Thor still hasn't awoken his divinity.
'Hmm, speaking of Nightmare Moon, I should check on the seal.'
I arrive on the Moon and check the seal. Everything was just as I had left it, and the seal was working as intended. I did notice the seal was a bit weaker than originally intended, but I knew that it was a rush job, and now, with my increased knowledge, I could get a specific number for how long the seal would last.
'83 to 113 Years if I am calculating it right. I should add some additional safeguards. Can't risk anyone causing problems. Especially with the Skrull fleeing Earth as of late.'
From what we gathered, the reason they were fleeing was a combination of factors. Earth was a mess, and the nice places were taken by the Imperium or Hydra. Hydra is hunting them, and the Imperium doesn't accept them for the most part. Next, they got an offer from the Federation for a new planet in exchange for their help in the war. Captain Marvel even supported this suggestion. So they decided to get off Earth while they could since the Imperium had already exposed them.
'Which works for me since they were more of a problem than anything. If there are going to be any shapeshifters, it will be Chrysalis and her kingdom. Hmm, now that I think of it, she will start getting marriage proposals soon enough. I think they haven't tried yet since she and Lucario are still young, and not many know about them. But the upcoming birthday ball will make them more well known.'
I shrug my shoulders and leave it for future me to deal with.
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Authors Note:
More events. Those Gems sure are suspicious. Did I miss any powerful characters? I think I only included those that aren't in the Imperium or weren't killed in previous chapters. If I missed anyone, please let me know so I can add them. Also, the seal is not lasting as long as Rio originally intended. I wonder if there is a reason for that. Until next time Ciao.