Marvel: The Awakened One

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”At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing but a chaotic void. Then... boom. The Big Bang.”

”From the epicenter of that cosmic birth, six singularities were compressed, condensing their power into six Infinity Stones.”

”Each of these six Stones holds dominion over a specific aspect of existence.”

”Space.”

”Reality.”

”Power.”

”Soul.”

”Mind.”

”And...”

Doctor Strange, having pulled Tony Stark into the New York Sanctum to deliver a crash course on the Infinity Stones, looked at the billionaire sitting opposite him. Strange lowered his gaze, his hands flashing through a seal to unlock the Eye of Agamotto on his chest. As the relic bloomed open, it revealed the emerald light of the gemstone within.

”Time!”

Tony Stark sat with his arms crossed, a deep frown creasing his forehead as he stared at the holographic projection of the six Infinity Stones Strange had conjured.

”Give me the guy’s name again.”

”THANOS!”

Before Strange could open his mouth, Bruce Banner, buzzing with anxiety, cut in. ”Tony, you don’t understand. He’s a monster. He invades planets, slaughters half the population for kicks, and moves on. He has no conscience. None. And he already has the Power and Space Stones. He...”

Tony watched Banner step toward him. He held up a hand, stopping him.

Banner blinked, confused by Tony’s posture and the strange look in his eyes.

”Tony, it’s me. It’s Bruce.”

”I know it’s you.” Tony cut him off, his voice flat. ”But you’re dead.”

Bruce froze.

”What the hell are you talking about? During the raid on the Hydra base, my jet went down, but I managed to...”

”You died in 2013. You died in Wakanda.”

”What?”

Bruce stared at Tony, his jaw slack. Tony wasn’t joking. He was serious.

Tony turned his gaze from the seemingly resurrected Bruce Banner to Doctor Strange. ”Are you going to explain this, or what?”

It wasn’t that Tony hadn’t considered the possibility. Had Hawk secretly resurrected Bruce Banner?

But...

The thought had barely crossed his mind before he dismissed it.

Hawk operated on a specific set of rules. He minded his own business, kept to himself, and loved nothing more than spending time with Gwen.

But the moment someone crossed his line?

Heh.

He didn’t just kill them—he erased their bloodline. And sometimes, their species.

So, while Hawk might resurrect a random bystander, he would never resurrect an enemy he had killed.

And Bruce Banner fell into that category. He was dead.

And more importantly, the raid on the Hydra base?

Bruce had died way before Hydra was even exposed. Unless his ghost had decided to tag along for the mission, his story made no sense.

Doctor Strange looked at Banner, then back to Tony.

”He is Bruce Banner, Tony. Just not our Bruce Banner.”

”Wh—”

”He’s Bruce Banner from a parallel multiverse,” Strange explained before Bruce could interrupt. ”In his universe, it seems, he didn’t cross paths with Hawk Phoenix.”

Hearing the name, Bruce’s frown deepened. ”Who is Hawk Phoenix? Thor kept throwing that name around too.”

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at Bruce.

”Wait, Thor talked to you about him?”

”Yeah. But I thought he was just messing with me.”

”...”

Tony looked at the confusion on Bruce’s face and was struck speechless.

Doctor Strange, seeing Bruce’s bewilderment, raised his right hand. He traced a circle in the air, pulling a series of images from reality itself. The fate of this universe’s Bruce Banner was projected into the eyes of his multiversal counterpart.

After a few minutes.

Bruce stood in silence. His mind raced as he processed the images of the entity—Hawk Phoenix—who had killed ”him” twice over.

”I have no idea who that is.”

”A multiverse is not the same as a parallel world,” Strange clarified. ”While another version of us may exist there, the events and the people involved can be different. Some things that exist here don’t exist there.”

Tony nodded, digesting the explanation. He looked at Bruce and offered a grim piece of advice.

”You should consider yourself lucky your universe doesn’t have a Hawk.”

”Why?”

Bruce bristled. ”Is he that dangerous?”

Tony didn’t answer. He turned his attention back to Doctor Strange. ”You said this Thanos guy wants to collect all six Stones?”

Strange nodded.

”Yes.”

”Then he’s already lost.”

”What?”

”Reality!”

”And Mind!”

Tony pointed at the holographic projection Wong had conjured, targeting the red and yellow stones. He let out a short harsh laugh. ”Those two Stones belong to Hawk. So, this Thanos you’re terrified of? He has zero chance of completing his rock collection.”

Unless he could kill Hawk. Which was, for all purposes, impossible.

Don’t forget... Hawk had once told Tony that if he was curious, he could borrow his Black Phoenix Surplice for a week to study it.

And Tony had.

Let’s just put it this way: The energy readings Tony had picked up from that single piece of armor dwarfed the energy output of Thor’s hammer.

By a factor of a hundred...

Bruce stared at Tony, taken aback by his confidence. ”So... where is this Hawk guy now?”

Tony shrugged. ”No idea. He left Earth a few weeks ago for his honeymoon, and we have no idea when he’s coming back. Pepper is on her way to see Gwen right now to find out if she has a way to contact him.”

Strange remained silent.

Hearing another unfamiliar name, Bruce was confused.

”And who is Gwen?”

”Okay, I’m convinced he’s not our Bruce,” Tony muttered to Strange, shaking his head.

Just then.

Tony’s phone rang.

It was Pepper.

”Tony!”

”Gwen is missing.”

”What do you mean, ’missing’?”

”It’s not just her.”

Pepper, who had just arrived at 521A Palm Street, was standing next to a frantic Sharon Carter. After a quick exchange of information, she had called Tony. Her voice carried disbelief. ”The entire Stacy family is gone. They vanished.”

Tony’s expression hardened.

The next second.

He thought of Westview.

”What about Westview?”

”...”

Pepper didn’t answer.

Just as dread began to form in Tony’s stomach, Sharon Carter’s voice came through the speaker. ”Westview is secure. The surveillance detail reports no unusual activity. We’re heading there no—”

She was cut off.

A portal of crackling golden sparks materialized on Palm Street.

Out stepped Tony, Doctor Strange, and Wong.

And—

”Doctor Banner?”

Sharon stared at the man bringing up the rear. The words spilled out before she could stop them. ”Did Hawk pardon you? Did he bring you back?”

Bruce, who was about to ask a question, lost all interest in playing along. The confusion on his face was replaced by irritation. ”Why did this Hawk guy want to kill me so badly?”

”It’s complicated.”

”Don’t ask.”

”We don’t have time to get into it.”

”You fought the Abomination and killed his sister in the crossfire.”

”...”

Amidst the chorus of dismissive answers, it was Doctor Strange who delivered the truth.

Bruce blinked, the pieces falling into place. He gave a slow nod.

Tony steered the conversation back to the crisis.

”How could Gwen just disappear?”

”The agent assigned to her detail flagged it this morning,” Sharon explained. ”Gwen went into her house yesterday afternoon and hasn’t been seen since. When she didn’t leave for work this morning, they contacted me.”

”Could Hawk have taken her back out to space?”

”No.”

Sharon shook her head. ”The satellite network didn’t pick up the Phoenix energy signature entering the atmosphere. Plus, if they were leaving again, Gwen would have texted me. I’m going to Westview to see if Wanda knows anything.”

Hearing that, Doctor Strange opened a portal to Westview without hesitation.

Only then did Sharon notice the man in the strange robes. She looked at him, recognizing the aura of authority.

”The Sorcerer Supreme?”

”No.”

Strange offered a tight smile. ”Doctor Strange.”

Sharon offered a noncommittal ”Oh” and dropped the subject.

Right now, nothing was more important than figuring out what had happened to Gwen.

Because if Gwen had vanished under suspicious circumstances... the destruction of Earth could be minutes away.

So, Sharon pinned her hopes on someone in Westview having an answer.

And as it turned out!

Someone did.

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”Gwen is missing?”

Wanda, who had been baking snacks for Billy and Tommy in the kitchen, was startled by the crowd at her front door. But as she listened to Sharon explain, she frowned. ”Her lab... Gwen told me a few days ago she was going to be busy at the lab. She said she might not come home for a while and asked if I could go over once a week to clean up the house.”

Pepper shook her head. ”I checked the lab. She hasn’t been there. She’s gone.”

Sharon leaned in. ”Are you sure she told you she was going to disappear for a while?”

Wanda shook her head as she ushered the group inside. ”She didn’t say ’disappear.’ She just said she’d be working long hours at the lab and wouldn’t make it home.”

Wanda then recounted how Gwen had been inviting her over recently, teaching her family recipes, and asking her to make sure Hawk was eating properly if she ended up working late.

”Hiss!”

”Did Gwen know this was going to happen?”

”Where did she go?”

”You don’t think Thanos took her, do you?”

Bruce Banner, who had followed them through the portal, spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. He laid out a hypothesis. ”You said this Hawk has two Infinity Stones. What if Thanos found him? What if Thanos already...”

He didn’t get to finish.

A small voice cut through the tension.

Jean, who had been hiding at the top of the stairs, intimidated by the strangers, came running down. She glared at Bruce and shouted, ”My Daddy is fine! Nothing bad is ever going to happen to him!”

Wanda, startled by the outburst, looked at her daughter. An idea struck her.

”Jean, can you sense where Daddy is?”

”Yeah!”

Jean nodded without hesitation.

”...”

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