Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the Marvel CMU. Sadly.

Golden eyes snapped open as desperately as it was quiet. They narrowed as they observed what was surrounding them, and the owner of the eyes' nose wrinkled as the stench of rotten food and straight up garbage overwhelmed his senses. Of course, only Truth would think of making his first stop at this new dimension a garbage can. Probably thought it was amusing to see his reaction.

"Well, guess what?" Ed snapped, talking to himself and unaware if any stranger saw him, they'd think he was out of his mind and most probably take him to a mental hospital. "I'm not going to play your games this time! Ha!" He shouted furiously with a hint of triumph, knowing that the Truth was listening from the damned Gate and he was not talking to himself.

Nope, definitely not.

With ease, the vertically-challenged boy leapt out of the trashcan - and once he did, a proud look momentarily passed his features, but the look quickly faded once the stench overwhelmed him again. "This place reeks!" Ed glared at the air in front of him, before raising his flesh arm to smell it tenatively.

It smelled like spoiled milk.

Swallowing back the vomit that threatened to spill out of his mouth, Ed quickly made his way out the dump, and what he saw once he was out of the alley widened his eyes considerably.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. Not even the Central looked as advanced and modern as what he was seeing in front of him - and for a few moments, he forgot how to breathe, completely taken aback and amazed by the sight laying in front of him.

Tall buildings were everywhere, and colourful lights (he didn't really see the use of them, it was morning and the sun was shining perfectly!) with varying sizes and shapes could be seen everywhere he looked. Automobiles much more advanced than the ones he'd ever seen were passing on the streets much faster than what they had back in Amestris, and there were numerous people on the sidewalks, each busy with their own business, but Ed could only estimate if the streets had this much people, he momentarily wondered the estimation of the population. Music blared from small shops that lined up the streets, though sometimes it was faded over the sound of honking automobiles and the chatter of the people.

The sight was something he'd never seen - and never thought he'd be able to see.

'What the hell is this place?' He wondered, astonished at the sight. "Al! You won't believe what - " Ed immediately stopped in the middle of his sentence once he remembered that Al wasn't here with him. His shoulders slumped and his previously awed eyes turned somber at the thought of his brother, who he knew would be much more excited than he was to see the sight laying in front of him.

True, the Truth had given him its word that Al would get his body back, but it was for a price much valuable than his alchemy.

His existence.

"You amuse me, Mr. Al-che-mist," Truth grinned widely at Ed. "Did you really think you'd be the one to set up the price?"

"What do you want, Truth?" Ed gritted his teeth as he stared at the white being with a glare that could kill. But obviously, since glares couldn't kill and Truth was - well, Ed didn't know if it could even be killed.

There was a tense moment before the being answered his question.

"I will give your brother his body back - but," he paused, his grin only widening and Ed suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach that the price was going to be much worse than what he intended to bargain for. "You, Mr. Al-che-mist, will have to leave," He sang.

"Leave? What do you mean?!"

"Well, you see Mr. Al-che-mist, the people here - they don't need you anymore," Truth shrugged, and Ed's eyes widened. "And if you want him," it jabbed a finger at Al, "To ever get his body back, this is the only exchange I'll take." Its grinned only turned more predatory.

"Just tell me, you bastard!"

"You're going to pack your bags, Mr. Al-che-mist," It said. "Because I'm sending you over to where no one will ever find you. Oh, don't give me that look, Mr. Al-che-mist. I'll give him his body back."

Ed thought of Al, finally being able to live without his suit of armor, in the body where he belonged. He thought of Al doing all the things he wasn't able to with his armor - Al getting married, eating, having kids - If this was the price he had to pay for all of that to happen...

Then so be it.

'Are you happy, Al?' Ed thought, looking up and gazing at the cloudless blue sky longingly. 'Fuck what that damned Truth bastard said. I'll find a way to get back to you, Winry, and hell, even Colonel Bastard! There has to be a way, I know there is.'

But until then, he supposed he needed to find a place to stay, and find out more about this place in order to fit in. Now, where could he learn about this world's currency...

A/N: And here's the prologue! I know it's super short and stuff, but I really hope you guys liked it so far. I've had this idea for a week now and I decided it is, finally, time to act on it. This story's going to be pretty slow-paced and chill, so it might take a while until Ed becomes a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Currently I have little plans about making him an Avenger, but we'll see if that changes in the future.

Romance-wise, I'm going to stick to canon as much as I can, so Tony x Pepper, and Nat x Bucky once we get to TWS. Ed's going to be involved in some important events in the Marvel world, and I'm already planning his involvement in some huge events like the Civil War, his part in the soon-to-be Age Of Ultron, etc. I have a lot of ideas for this story, and I'm super excited now that I've started writing it!

Last thing, my writing isn't really the 'purple prose' kind of thing, and I'm trying to show instead of tell, but my writing style... I'm very simple and cut to the chase when it comes to writing, I don't beat around the bush. I'll try to be as wordy as possible, but I'm more readability over prose beauty. So. Yeah.

Ciao!