I sighed as I laid back into my first-class seat, closing the red book in my hands, and looking out of the airplane window at the snow-covered landscape flying past below me. It had been a long flight to Siberia, Russia, but if all went to plan, the reward would be well worth whatever jetlag I suffered.
I checked my watch. Still forty-five minutes to my destination. This was as good a time as any to go over the plan, so I put away the book in my hands and pulled out my laptop. Force of habit made me reaffirm the date, 26th April 2008. I still had a full year till things started to snowball. More than enough time for me to be well into Phase One of my plan.
I opened my notes and references, and pulled up the files that I kept on all the original Avengers.
Oh yeah… I forgot to mention. I died. In the normal world. An eroded stone gargoyle had broken off of a building and had landed on my head at terminal velocity. Kind of embarrassing, to be honest.
But instead of going to heaven, hell or getting reincarnated, I ended up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of all places, as Alexander North, the genius son and sole heir of Joseph North, ex-CEO of North Enterprises.
North Enterprises, based in New York, had dominated the worldwide shipping industry for the better part of the 20th century, until it was bought by Howard Stark in the early eighties, for an obscenely large sum, of which my father had the largest cut. This one transaction made him, and by extension me, billionaires. My father retired from work and settled down to enjoy the rest of his life in luxury and indulgence. Not being a very sharp man to begin with, his newly acquired wealth only served to make him even more complacent, which in turn made him all the easier for me to manipulate.
To say that I had a shock at dying and being resurrected as the son of a billionaire in the MCU was a bit of an understatement. I'll admit, a part of me just wanted to settle in and enjoy the rest of my life as a one percenter, partying all night and banging supermodels. But maybe it was the fact that I knew that eventually a certain Mad Titan would be showing up and killing half the universe, or maybe it was just that I now lived in a universe where the impossible was possible, I decided that I would become a defender of Earth. A guardian. Not a superhero, but someone who had enough power to challenge Thanos himself. I wanted the power of a god, and I decided no one was going to stop me.
Even as a child, I'd been thinking, scheming of the future. I'd convinced my father to let me train in martial arts with the absolute best teachers. I'd studied and mastered every conceivable branch of science. By age fifteen, I could hold my own against ten adult combatants without breaking a sweat, carry a conversation with top level scientists, and handle most weapons expertly. In short, I had trained my mind and body to the absolute peak of human potential. But I needed to push them past that, which brings us back to the first class compartment on a chartered plane over Siberia.
My father had recently passed away in his sleep, leaving me the sole heir to his whole estate, including his billions. I had already put them to good use. I'd set up multiple hideouts in key areas in the USA, like New York, Malibu, and New Mexico, where Thor fell to Earth. I had transformed my penthouse into a cutting-edge base of operations, complete with a state-of-the-art Stark tech-powered laboratory.
So, why was I on this chartered plane? Simple. I had tracked down the Hydra colonel who had been the Winter Soldier's handler in the 90's. I had taken him out in much the same way as Zemo had in the Civil War movie (he didn't put up much of a fight, being surprised). And then I had acquired the Red Book and the location of the Siberian facility from him. This was the first step of Phase 1; to acquire Super Soldier serum.
From there I would embark on my quest to gain as many power-ups as I possibly could. I was confident that with my already formidable skills, coupled with my metaknowledge of this universe, I would encounter no serious problems in my rise to power.
Anyway, I went through the case files of the Avengers.
ANTHONY EDWARD STARK – IRON MAN
Status: Alive
Date of Birth: May 29, 1970
Last Known Location: Stark Mansion, Malibu California.
Importance Level: 10
Notes: Tony Stark is a genius, billionaire, philanthropist and the head of Stark Industries. Using his own great wealth and exceptional technical knowledge, Stark has enjoyed the playboy lifestyle for many years. That will change when he is kidnapped by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan. With his life on the line, Stark will create an armored suit which he will use to escape his captors, return home and become the armored superhero known as Iron Man, battling against terrorists as well as his own former business partner Obadiah Stane. He will go on to become a founding member of the Avengers, and he will be, in Steve Rogers words, "Earth's greatest defender."
Pressure Points: Pepper Potts, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan.
Affiliations: Stark Industries, S.H.I.E.L.D.(future), Avengers (future).
STEVEN GRANT ROGERS – CAPTAIN AMERICA
Status: Alive (Frozen in the Arctic Circle)
Date of Birth: July 4, 1918
Last Known Location: H.Y.D.R.A. Headquarters, Swiss Alps Europe.
Importance Level: 10
Notes: Steve Rogers is a World War II veteran, and is known as the world's first superhero. Born within Brooklyn, New York City, the young Rogers had suffered from numerous health problems, and upon America's entry into World War II, was rejected from military service despite several attempts to enlist. Determined to serve, he ultimately volunteered for the top-secret Super Soldier program, and the frail Rogers was then enhanced to the peak of human perfection. Rogers soon joined the war effort as the mascot, given the new moniker of Captain America, and later joined the war with a combat role after he single-handedly liberated captured Allied POWs.
From 1943 to 1945, Rogers attacked multiple HYDRA bases alongside his own team, the Howling Commandos, in another attempt to capture Red Skull, and recover the Tesseract. His famous World War II exploits had made him a living legend, and during this time he also formed a relationship with agent Peggy Carter. Despite seemingly losing his closest best friend and loyal teammate, Bucky Barnes, during a mission, Rogers carried on to help the Allies win the war, but crashed into the Arctic during his final mission. His close friend Howard Stark spent time searching for his body. Rogers then has spent more than sixty years encased into ice in suspended animation before Rogers will eventually be found by S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2012.
Pressure Points: Agent Peggy Carter, James "Bucky" Barnes.
Affiliations: U.S Army (formerly), SSR (formerly), S.H.I.E.L.D. (future), Avengers (future).
THOR ODINSON
Status: Alive
Date of Birth:? (Vastly Delayed Aging/Nigh Immortality)
Last Known Location: Asgard
Importance Level: 9
Notes: Thor Odinson is the prince of Asgard, and the God of Thunder. When his irresponsible behavior will restart a conflict between Asgard and Jotunheim, Thor will be denied the right to become king, be stripped of his power, and be banished by his father Odin to Earth. While exiled on Earth, Thor will learn humility, finding love with Jane Foster, and helping to save his new friends from a destructive threat sent by his adoptive brother Loki. Due to his selfless act of sacrifice, Thor will redeem himself in his father's eyes and will be granted his power once more, which he will then use to defeat Loki's schemes of genocide.
One of the most powerful Avengers, if not the most.
Pressure Points: Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Erik Selvig
Affiliations: Asgard, Avengers (future), Revengers (future).
ROBERT BRUCE BANNER – THE HULK
Status: Alive
Date of Birth: December 18, 1969
Last Known Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Importance Level: 9
Notes: Bruce Banner, M.D., Ph.D. is a renowned scientist who Is highly respected for all his work in the fields of Biochemistry, Nuclear Physics, and Gamma Radiation. As part of a program commissioned by General Thaddeus Ross to recreate the Super Soldier Serum which created Captain America, Banner will conduct an experiment with Gamma Radiation. However, when an exposure to high levels of Gamma Radiation instead of Vita Radiation will go awry, the mild-mannered scientist will find that when angered or provoked, he will transform into the huge, rage-fueled, nearly mindless and green-skinned monster known as the Hulk.
One of the strongest Avengers, if not the strongest.
Pressure Points: Betty Ross.
Affiliation: Harvard University (formerly), Avengers (future), Revengers (future).
I had notes like these for almost all of the main players in the Marvel universe, but these four were the most relevant to Phase 1 of my plan. Therefore, I kept careful tabs on them and their movements… Well, I mostly kept tabs on Tony Stark, since Steve Rogers was frozen, Thor had yet to come to earth and Banner was in the wind. But I had made plans for them according to my meta knowledge, so I had a fairly good handle on the major events that would be happening in the coming years.
The pilot's voice through the intercom jarred me from my musings.
"Alright, Mister North, we're approaching our destination. We'll be landing in ten minutes."
Excitement swept like a wave through me at the prospect of obtaining my first, real power up, one that would push me beyond the limits of any human being in the planet right now.
I sat up straight, and let a triumphant smile come to my face.
Today was going to be a good day.
So that was that.
This is my first ever fanfic, guys. So if I suck, be kind!
That aside, if anyone has any constructive criticism, let me hear it! I want to improve my writing, and any advice will be highly appreciated! Also as a disclaimer, this fic is greatly inspired by "Twelve Step Program to Omnipotence" by Bakkughan. It's one of my favorite fics ever, and if you're a fan of SI fics and Marvel, you NEED to read it. This fic won't be a complete copy of Twelve Steps, but it may borrow pretty heavily from it. I dunno. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and if anyone has any suggestions regarding the story, I'm open to all ideas!
PEACE!
