Chapter 1: Assembling the Guardians
Kousei blinked his eyes as he looked around the well-lit, elegant room. Then he did a double take…it was a large pub!
"I'm only 14!" he thought with worry.
"Don't fret, young one," the giant bald alien said. "I won't be giving you anything to drink."
As Kousei looked around, he saw there were many other people in the room with him. Including Black Widow and Arnim Zola, there were three people with odd blade holding gear strapped to their waists, a tall, fair skinned woman with brown hair and a shield bearing the Union Jack, a dark-skinned man with a devilish smile and high tech battle gear, a boy not much older than Kousei who wore a yellow and blue suit, an older man with a red cape to match the red "O" on his chest, another middle-aged, bald man with a purple arrow tattooed on his head, and a dark skinned girl with black hair and an eye symbol tattooed on her forehead.
"Who are all these people?!" Kousei thought. "And why did this guy bring us all here?!"
"I thought of the pub design when I read your biography. I hope you like it." another voice said. Kousei looked to see the man with darkened bags under his eyes and a royal looking cloak talking to the woman who sported the Union Jack on her uniform and shield.
"I like it quite a lot," the woman replied in her formal sounding British accent. "Thank you."
The giant bald alien stepped forward to the group. "Greetings, warriors, agents, and heroes alike. I am the Watcher, and I have chosen all of you—"
"GET BACK!" the boy in the blue and yellow suit suddenly cried, forcefully punching the man in the red and white uniform. The old man grunted in pain, surprised at the boy's outlash.
"Woah woah, slow down son!" the man implored, blocking the teen's next blow. "What's going on?!"
Kousei, unsure how he could help, just stood and watched as the room erupted into chaos.
"Stay away from me!" the dark-haired woman with the swords on her waist shouted at the two men with the same gear on. Both of them put their hands up and backed away in fear.
"You…you're Avatar Aang, aren't you?!" the girl with the eye symbol said to the man in the red robe and blue arrow tattoos.
"Well…yes!" the man said in astonishment. "But who are you and how do you even know me?!"
"I'm your successor, Avatar Korra," the girl said smugly, pointing to her eye tattoo. "And well…let's just say I had different mentors than you did."
Kousei didn't know what to do or say, so he just stood and looked on in confusion as the different people argued with each other while simultaneously trying to clarify the situation. Black Widow, Zola, the woman with the Union Jack shield, and the dark-skinned man with the high-tech blasters stood beside the young pianist, equally bewildered.
"I guess we were chosen…to come here and fight to the death?" the dark-skinned man said in what Kousei guessed to be a West African accent.
"Blimey, it seems we have!" the British woman exclaimed.
"ENOUGH!" the Watcher shouted, silencing the fragile alliance. They all looked towards the ancient being with mixed expressions of surprise, fright, and confusion on their faces.
"You don't understand!" the boy dressed in blue and yellow shouted. "My dad is the biggest threat to Earth right now! He killed the Guardians of the Globe and tried to force me help him with enslaving Earth under the Viltrum Empire!"
The man in the red and white uniform with the red "O" on his chest was horrified. "What?! Son, I—!"
"That's cute" the black-haired girl in the white military uniform with swords scoffed. "Did he unleash an army of Colossal Titans and align himself with a maniacal man in a green cape and titanium suit?!"
"Mikasa…what are you talking about?!" the boy with short black hair and the identical gear on his waist exclaimed.
"I will explain!" The Watcher shouted again, and the twelve fighters took deep breaths to calm themselves down.
"I am the Watcher, guardian of all timelines and universes that there are," he began. "And right now, a grave and terrible threat seeks to conquer all of your worlds."
The Watcher was silent for a moment; he let that information sink in before continuing.
"At first, I scoured all your universes, timelines, and worlds for the one true hero that could avail this crisis. But as I searched, I saw the greater picture. Consequently, you have all been assembled from across different timelines to put an end to this threat and save not just your world, but the entire multiverse."
Kousei and the twelve warriors exchanged a newfound look of understanding, awe, but also terror. A common threat that all their worlds faced?! Who could even obtain that kind of power? Who had obtained that power?
"That being said, I believe introductions are in order," the man with the mysterious cloak standing beside the Watcher said. "Calm introductions."
"Explanations too!" the blond-haired man with the swords strapped to his waist said.
"Wonderful!" the dark-skinned man standing to the right of Kousei said. "I'll go first! My name is T'Challa. Star Lord T'Challa that is. I was originally born and raised in Wakanda, but after a mishap resulting in me being abducted by the Ravagers, I became a space pirate captain that, well…saved the galaxy many times!"
Star Lord T'Challa smiled charmingly at the others. "Pleasure to meet all of you!"
"Very well then, I suppose I'm next," the British woman said, stepping forward. "I am Captain Peggy Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D agent presently, originally a super soldier for the British Air Service in World War Two before a scuffle with an interdimensional HYDRA monster dragged me sixty years into the future."
From there, the introductions went counterclockwise around the room. It was difficult for the young Arima to keep track of them all. The man with the red robe and blue arrow tattoos introduced himself as Avatar Aang, master of all elements and the bridge between the Spirt and human worlds. The girl with the eye symbol, who Kousei heard was Avatar Korra, laughed as she introduced herself as the next incarnation of her more docile self.
But there was one slight problem…
"So you're telling me, in my universe, after I die…this is who replaces me?" Aang asked The Watcher.
"Not exactly," the celestial alien said. "She is from an alternate timeline within your universe."
The man with the red "O" on his chest introduced himself as Omni Man (hence, the "O") while his son dressed in the blue and yellow costume introduced himself as Invincible.
"Son, what was with the fighting me earlier?" Omni Man asked.
Invincible looked grim, not wanting to recount the horrors his dad had done to him in his own timeline. In lieu of that, the Watcher stepped in and revealed to Omni Man what his alternate self had done not only to his son, but to the people of Earth in Invincible's timeline. Omni Man's heart filled with grief.
"Oh son…" he said. "I'm so sorry."
The three sword wielders with the odd gear on their waste were Reiner Braun, Eren Yeager, and Mikasa Ackerman. Eren and Reiner looked friendly enough at least, but Kousei gulped when he made eye contact with Mikasa. She looked way more ferocious than Kaori did when he'd accidently snapped a picture of the violinist as a gust of wind blew her skirt up.
"So what?" Mikasa spat at Eren and Reiner. "I'm guessing in your timeline the war between Paradis and Marley hasn't happened yet?"
Reiner was taken aback. "No," he said. "In our timeline…the Warriors and I betrayed Marley and helped Commander Erwin capture Zeke and Pieck. We got Willy Tybur to come to Paradis under the threat of the Rumbling and after negotiations, he delivered a message of peace on our behalf to Marley."
"Granted, it took a while for us to reach an understanding," Eren added. "But once he did, things more or less were going smoothly. Except of course, Eastern Marley which split from their leader following his allegiance with the "island devils". Marley had a civil war over the whole thing; that's how Willy Tybur and his loyalists were able to come help fortify Paradis along with the nation of Hizuru!"
"I see," Mikasa said, and looked away bitterly.
"I'm Black Widow," Widow interjected. "Ex-KGB agent and last member of the Avengers. In my timeline at least."
"Dr. Arnim Zola, former HYDRA scientist and currently in control of an Ultron body," he said in his robotic German accent. "Made possible by a virus developed by Black Widow and her late colleague Clint Barton."
"Dr. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme," the man with the elegant cloak said, waving his hand. "And current assistant to The Watcher and his plan."
Kousei was still processing all the names and facts about all these new faces he'd never seen before, then suddenly he felt all eyes in the room shift to him.
"Um, kid?" Omni Man smiled. "We'd like to know your name too ya know."
"Oh, right!" Kousei said. "Um…I'm Kousei Arima! I play the piano, and…I had just finished up my eighth-grade year!"
"A shame your year had to end in such destruction," Zola scoffed.
The others in the room were somewhat befuddled as to what a pianist was doing among such a mighty assortment of fighters. Star Lord T'Challa, sensing this, put an encouraging hand on the young man's shoulder and smiled.
"Ah, wonderful! A piano player!" he rejoiced, playfully punching Arima's shoulder. "I've always wanted to learn! Apparently Earth is the only planet in the entire galaxy that has such an amazing instrument!"
"Who are your favorite composers?" Captain Carter asked. "Stravinsky? Bach? Do you know how to play any swing or jazz?"
Kousei was overwhelmed by the sudden friendliness from the titans of battle and smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, mostly classical stuff like Mozart and Beethoven," he said shyly. "I'm not sure I'm familiar with those other genres you mentioned."
"Well, never too late to learn!" Reiner said. "Maybe you can teach me something later!"
"Now is not the time for that," Dr. Strange said sternly, steering the conversation back to its course. "Mikasa, care to explain to the others what threat we're up against?"
Mikasa was silent for a moment. Then, she looked at Eren with a look of sorrow yet mighty bitterness.
"In my timeline…you've started the Rumbling," she told Eren. "And aligned yourself with this psychopath in a green cloak who calls himself Dr. Doom."
Eren and Reiner were silent. They were stunned.
"I believe it is now time for me to explain how that happened," The Watcher interjected.
"Yeah, no kidding," Invincible muttered under his breath.
Moving his giant hands, The Watcher formed what looked like a "bubble" that floated in the center of the pub. What it really was, was a window into time. As Kousei watched the events begin to play out, The Watcher explained that these things happened on Kousei's, Widow's and Zola's world.
"In their timeline, their first menace was a robot powered by artificial intelligence, created by the ambitious mind of Tony Stark," the Watcher began. "Stark hoped this new AI creation of his would bring about peace in his time. Unfortunately, his dreams were dashed as this new AI, Ultron, saw only one path to peace."
"The destruction of the entire world," Widow finished.
"As if that wasn't enough, Ultron gained an organic body of vibranium containing the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones that manipulates key aspects of our reality," Doctor Strange continued. He then extended a hand to Captain Carter. "Captain Carter, may I?"
The captain handed the sorcerer her shield, and Doctor Strange proceeded to levitate it in the air before blasting it with some of his most powerful spells. The others watched in awe as the simple, yet resilient shield took virtually no damage from the sorcerer's attacks. Thanking Captain Carter, Strange returned the shield to her.
"With his new nigh indestructible body, and the power of the Mind Stone," the Watcher said. "Ultron laid waste to not just the Avengers but their entire world."
"So THAT'S who took away my home and friends without a second thought," Kousei thought bitterly.
"Where does Victor von Doom come into this?" Zola interrupted. "Last I remember, Latveria was of no significance to HYDRA, let alone S.H.I.E.L.D"
"I'm getting there," the Watcher said. As the others continued to watch, they saw Ultron basking in the silence he'd created on that world via the deaths of billions. Then suddenly, a portal opened up behind him, and a giant, purple humanoid figure with giant arms and a golden gauntlet stepped forward. Ultron wasted no time in cutting his would-be challenger in half with a beam from the Mind Stone.
That was when Dr. Doom appeared.
Kousei gasped as he saw the man, armed with nothing but his armor, a green cloak, and what looked like a medieval glaive, stab Ultron in the head before twisting a handle on his staff. Green lightning bolts crackled from the Android's head, and before long, Ultron's once mighty vibranium body was nothing more than a lifeless automaton sprawled out on the ground.
"You said this Ultron body of mine is one you found at an older battle site following Barton's demise, correct?" Zola asked Widow.
"Yes," she answered. "I wasn't having any luck infecting any of those weird Doom bots with the virus, so I went with the next best thing."
The group continued to watch as Dr. Doom, victorious, performed some spells that attached all six stones to his armor's chest plate. The madman screamed in triumph and rage as the power of the stones surged through him, granting him the power over reality, time, space, power, mind, and soul. As Dr. Doom began to hover in the air with his armor's rocket boots, he outstretched his hands and suddenly formed legions upon legions of deadly Doom Bots with the reality stone. Kousei was speechless.
"It was Dr. Doom who had planned and foreseen all of these events via the use of dark sorcery," The Watcher explained. "He foresaw that Stark's creation of a peacekeeper turned foe, would grab the attention of Thanos the Mad Titan, and bring the nearly limitless power of the Infinity Stones to him. He gained power over not just Kousei's and Widow's world, but the other worlds in their universe. As such, most life in this timeline was erased as Doom's empire subjugated the galaxy. Most worlds refused to bend the knee to him, and as such met a gruesome end in a matter of just days."
"So…what did he even have left after that?" Korra chimed in.
The Watcher's face filled with sorrow.
"Nothing…and that's precisely it," The Watcher answered. "He hungered for more, and once the stones helped him become aware of even me, we had an altercation, and I narrowly escaped with my own life. Now, all of the multiverse is at risk, for the first other world he's chosen to conquer is the world of Mikasa Ackerman."
The twelve allies were silent for a moment before Omni Man spoke up.
"So, let me get this straight," Omni Man said. "The AI Android that ended the world of Kousei and Black Widow, was destroyed by someone more powerful who was waiting for an opportunity to obtain these near infinitely powerful gems the entire time. And now…he seeks to conquer another world via use of this so-called Rumbling?"
The Watcher moved his hand again, changing the window so that it looked into Mikasa's timeline. Kousei's knees nearly buckled under him when he saw the same man perched atop the right shoulder of a terrifying, eighty-meter-tall giant with gargoyle looking teeth, black hair, and green eyes that glowed with demonic ferocity. Below the eighty-meter-tall monster was a gigantic army burning red, sixty-meter titans that stretched for miles and miles.
"Your assertion is correct, hero of Viltrum," the Watcher said. "The events in this window have not yet taken place, but they will soon. And if Dr. Doom gains the power of Eren Yeager's Founding Titan plus the army of Colossal Titans that you see…"
His voice trailed off as he let the information sink in. By now, he didn't need to finish the sentence. The group was more than aware of what was at stake.
"Okay, great," Avatar Korra said determinedly. "We know what we're up against. Now how do we stop this guy?"
"Believe it or not…that's the easy part," The Watcher warned, and began waving his hands again. He looked forebodingly at Eren and Reiner.
"Gentlemen, in your timeline, the betrayal of the Warriors prevented much unnecessary bloodshed on Paradis," he said. "But in this timeline…"
At first, the group just casually observed the events shown by the celestial alien. Then, their mouths dropped open, utterly flabbergasted by the atrocities committed by this world's Karl Fritz, and the resulting oppression against Eldians because of it.
The internment zones.
The segregation.
The race wars.
The skewed justice system of Marley.
The ignorance of the people within Paradis due to the mind wipe of the contrite first king.
The battles with the Survey Corps, as the betrayal of this world's Reiner and Bertholdt led to a battle against Zeke where Commander Erwin and his troops charged to their death.
And finally, the growing desire for vengeance within this world's Eren Yeager, that had now blossomed into becoming the full-fledged executioner of Dr. Doom.
Kousei couldn't even bear to look at some parts, such as the way Karl Fritz had passed down Ymir's titan abilities and had averted his eyes. His eyes were now filled with angry, disbelieving tears.
"How can people be so cruel?" Kousei thought in despair.
"So now…following the battle…we need to find a way to heal the cracks of longstanding prejudice that go back generations?" Captain Carter asked.
"Precisely," Doctor Strange affirmed.
"If I can change the mind of the Mad Titan, I'm confident I can make at least a good contribution to that effort." T'Challa said confidently.
"Why don't we just use our powers to tear down the oppressive governments and their rulers by force?" Avatar Korra said.
Aang groaned. "Because that is not the duty of the Avatar, Korra. Plus, it's a bit more complicated than that."
"That, and we're trying to save the people of this world from a brutal death. Not bring it upon them ourselves." Black Widow added.
"Alright, seems we're clear on our mission," Invincible said. "So, whose got the first idea for a plan?"
….
Gabi Braun's eyes widened in horror as she saw Eren Yeager break free from his titan's crystalline nape and begin sprinting towards his brother Zeke with all his might. Gabi's arms were trembling and her whole body shook with shock from witnessing Falco transform into a horrid Pure Titan and devouring Galliard. But she knew she could not let Eren make contact with his brother and took aim with the Anti-Titan rifle.
But right as she had a good sight picture, she suddenly felt a giant metal body speed and crash into her. She cried out in pain as the rifle was ripped from her hands and she tumbled to the ground. As she opened her eyes, she looked up to see a large man clad in titanium armor and dressed in a green cape stained with dirt and blood. Six odd looking yet perfectly smooth, different colored stones were engraved into his chest plate, and the gauntlets of both arms sported many terrible looking weapons. The man's face was hidden by a metal mask, but Gabi's heart froze as she saw the man's eyes peer at her through the thin slits, glaring at her with a pure hatred that was deeper even than that of the world's for Eldians. Behind him stood at least five more people…no wait, why did they move so weird? And have glowing green eyes? Did they have any ounce of human flesh or bone at all?
"Don't dare interfere with the plans of the mighty Dr. Doom, little lady," Dr. Doom warned. "You are little more than an insect, and if you are not careful, you shall be quashed as such."
Under normal circumstances, Gabi would've retorted with a snarky, bratty remark about how nobody could beat Marley and her warrior comrades would come to save her. This time, however, Gabi was too frightened to even speak, and could only lay on the ground in terror as Dr. Doom turned towards Eren and Zeke.
The instant Zeke and Eren's hands met, a gigantic bolt of yellow lightning shot down from the sky and struck Eren and Zeke. Rather than vaporize them though, the lightning signifying a Titan transformation crackled and sizzled as Eren's body began to grow… and grow…until he was only ten meters away from being as tall as Wall Maria itself. Dr. Doom perceived what would soon happen if he did not intervene, and quickly used the Mind Stone to speak to his new ally telepathically while shielding himself with the Power Stone.
"Eren Yeager!" the dictator yelled in Eren's Mind. "You must control the height of your titan as your transform, or else you will be far too big to move! I can use my Reality Stone to aid you in that process! Grow higher than the Colossal Titans in the Wall you told me about, yes, but not too much taller!"
Eren clearly heard his new "ally's" words, for as his titan grew, it stopped once it was twenty meters above the wall. But then, something else happened. Gabi's mouth remained agape as she witnessed the wall around Shiganshina suddenly begin to crumble, and reveal…faces! Yes, faces! Horrid, stoic, emotionless faces of monstrous Colossal Titans that were all at Eren Yeager's command!
"So the legends were true!" Gabi thought. "King Fritz really did make the wall from Colossal Titans!"
"GABIIIII!" she heard Reiner scream and turned to see him shake off the Scout soldiers harassing him, sprinting towards her as the wall fell down. But as Reiner reached for her, he suddenly felt his entire body go numb as a weird, purple energy suddenly glowed around him.
Dr. Doom was holding back the Armored Titan with the Power Stone.
Eren Yeager lowered his eyes and gazed down at Reiner with his massive head. The memories of Reiner's betrayal, the killing of all those scouts, the lies, the pathetic begging in Liberio right before Eren's failed assassination attempt of Willy Tybur, all came flooding back in an instant. Once again, Dr. Doom conferred with his new ally telepathically via the Mind Stone.
"Kill him, Eren Yeager," the Latverian despot encouraged. "This is the one who betrayed you. Lied to your face. Killed your mother! Furthered the interests of the filth in Marley instead of siding with you against them! Kill him, Eren! Kill him now!"
And Eren did just that. Raising his left foot, he locked eyes with Reiner one last time. Reiner was immobilized by the Power Stone, but that was unnecessary as Reiner was more than willing to take the due punishment for his actions. Inside his titan body, the troubled man just closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
"It's nothing more than what I deserve, Eren," the contrite Marleyan warrior thought. "I'm sorry."
Eren's foot came crashing down, squashing the nape of the once great Armored Titan like an insignificant insect. Gabi gasped in horror and opened her mouth to scream, but in the moment, her vocal cords felt like they were gone. She could not move, shout, or even lift a finger. Her body was consumed by absolute terror and anguish as her beloved family member was brutally mauled by the vengeful Eren Yeager.
But the blood of his betrayer was not enough for the Founding Titan.
Looking down to his left, Eren saw the Cart Titan sprawled out at the base of the wall, her grotesque duck billed face bleeding due to debris that had fallen on her. A man in a white uniform hurriedly limped away from the battered titan; that must be the insufferable Marleyan General Magath. Eren did not need validation from Dr. Doom this time; he stomped on the Cart Titan's nape before she could even recover from her injuries, ending Pieck Finger's life and effectively destroying the last of the accursed Marleyan Warrior unit.
"PIEEEEEECK!" Magath screamed, but continued limping for his life towards the nearest house.
Atop the roof of a quaint house, Armin's eyes grew wide with terrified disbelief as he witnessed the mindless carnage wrought by the man he once called a friend. Armin and Mikasa had been lucky enough to get away from Pieck with their ODM gear when the wall began to crumble, but when Armin landed Mikasa wasn't next to him! Where had she gone?! And who was this megalomanic Eren had aligned himself with that somehow was more diabolical and villainous than Eren himself?! Armin wanted to weep, but the tears could not come to his eyes. As the distraught Scout looked around, he saw even the back of Shiganshina's wall had come down.
"What the hell, Eren!" Armin thought. "Why are you summoning titans from all three of the walls?! Shiganshina's wall is more than enough to protect Paradis from the global alliance!"
Just when Armin thought things couldn't get any worse, he suddenly felt a strange sensation come over him as he was transported to this odd-looking field of sand that was bathed in a light blue hue. A strange tree composed entirely of what appeared to be pure light, stood in the center of the field and Armin saw the faces of hundreds of other Eldians in the field.
Then, Eren's voice boomed through his mind.
"To all subjects of Ymir," his friend's voice began. "My name is Eren Yeager. I am using the power of the Founder to address all of you at once. I have allied myself with the great and mighty Dr. Victor Von Doom, an esteemed ally and protector of the people of Paradis. With the Doctor's aid, I have gained control of the legions of titans buried within the walls of Paradis. We now begin our march to total victory and domination over this world."
Eren's voice stopped for a second, letting the information sink in. Then he disclosed his true intentions.
"The world seeks to wipe the people of this island off the face of the earth," Eren declared. "I despise and reject that wish. The great Dr. Doom shall guide and protect me as I lead the armies of Colossus across the world. The Colossal Titans I now command…will trample every last bit of life beyond our island. And no one shall ever threaten Paradis again."
As the vision came to an end, Armin found himself going from one hell back to another. Armin collapsed, trying to control his frantic breathing as he struggled to rationalize his friend's plan.
The global military alliance was understandable sure, but…the entire world?!
Just then, Armin heard a weird crackling sound behind him and turned to see twelve people step out of the blazing orange circle and onto the roof. He gasped; among them were Mikasa, Reiner, and Eren!
"Mikasa!" Armin shouted. "Where have you been?! And how are Eren and Reiner with you?! Who are all these people?!"
"Settle down, lad!" Captain Carter implored. "We are here to help you! Now please tell us, what's going on?"
The tear ducts in Armin's eyes finally allowed themselves to open up as he grabbed Mikasa's shoulders and revealed to her all he had seen.
"EREN'S GOING TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE WORLD!" he sobbed.
Mikasa gasped.
"The man in the green cape is named Dr. Doom!" Armin explained through tears. "I have no idea where he came from or what interest he has in this conflict, but it's like Eren is a completely different person with that guy at his back! He stomped on the Armored and Cart titans, Mikasa! While they were defenseless! Just so he could have revenge for the past! He doesn't care about anyone anymore! He just wants revenge on the world!"
The twelve fighters looked somber as the sincere sorrow behind Armin's words rang even louder than the rumbling of the Colossal Titans. Just then, Jean and Connie zipped onto the roof with their ODM gear, equally astounded and stunned by what they had seen.
"Armin, are you okay?!" Jean said. "Mikasa, who are all these people?!"
"Introductions will have to wait!" Mikasa shouted. She turned to Dr. Strange. "Doctor Strange, can you take us to Captain Levi and Hange?"
"Yes!" the sorcerer replied and began circling his hands to open another portal.
Meanwhile, Dr. Doom had a wondrous view from his perch on the Founding Titan's right shoulder. So far, his plan had worked flawlessly.
He'd allowed the Avengers to be destroyed by Tony Stark's own creation.
His enchanted glaive had been more than enough to kill Ultron when he'd teleported to the android's location after his victory over the world.
Ultron dispatching Thanos had expedited his victory all the more and secured the Infinity Stones for him.
The power of the Stones had allowed him to sense, fight, and nearly defeat the Watcher himself before the being had teleported away. But by then, Doom had already discovered the multiverse, along with the perfect puppet to help him conquer his first alternate timeline.
Eren Yeager.
Underneath his mask, Dr. Doom's face was lit up by a vile, evil grin. In retrospect, gaining access to the grand power of the Founding Titan was like child's play. Enter this timeline, brainwash Eren Yeager to follow him via the Mind Stone, play along with Yeager's plan so the Rumbling could begin, and now, help Eren succeed in the Rumbling before taking the Colossal Titans for himself.
Build his army. Subjugate the multiverse.
Nothing could stop the scheming, mighty Dr. Doom.
Nothing.
…..
"It reminds you of her, doesn't it?" the Watcher asked Kousei empathetically.
Kousei stared down blankly at the udo noodles and sushi. Those two dishes? Not so much.
But the canelés?
"Yes, they do," Kousei said. Then he smiled politely and looked up at the Watcher. "It's okay though. I'll gladly eat it after having to eat all those disgusting MREs. So thank you. Or, well, thanks to Dr. Strange that is."
The Watcher smiled. He'd been right to bring the boy along for this mission. His kindness and empathy would fit perfectly into the next part of the plan.
"Of course, young Arima," the celestial said. "Eat and rest up. I believe Strange also put a piano room somewhere around here. You may want to practice after eating…you'll need it."
Kousei was confused. "Where exactly does my playing the piano factor into defeating two megalomaniacs hell bent on conquering the multiverse?"
"You'll see soon enough," the Watcher promised. "Trust me."