"Let us begin." The High Priest cleared his throat, letting a gauntlet-covered hand fall to the marble table before the elders and drawing attention to his impatient form. The Moon Prince, eldest son of the ruler of Heaven, nodded at the others, settling into the chair beside the High King. The Shining Lord leaned forward in his seat, gazing excitedly at the contestants until he sat on the very edge.

"This night, our Shining Lord shall select a warrior to be his guardian and his most loyal companion. A Guardian must be prepared to sacrifice their life—their very soul—for the survival of the One Above All's son. The Winner must hold him dear to their hearts—as if the loss of the Lord would directly be a loss of themselves." The High Priest's boots were quiet along the tile as he walked, stepping forward to begin the festival. A sword gleamed in his hands, the symbol of success, for whoever was chosen would be given only the finest weapon. Boys, men, and elders stood at the ready, watching the powerful celestial with both fierce and hesitant eyes.

The Shining Lord was watching the crowds with excitement, but there was something in his chest that beat wildly. His skin felt as if it was burning, itching—someone's gaze so heavy that the Lord felt as if it had penetrated to his bones. A young warrior looked up, blue eyes glimmering in wonder, gazing at the Lord wide-eyed. He was the Moon Prince's younger brother. The Lord, in turn, found himself pulled to the contender, unable to see his fate as his advisers did. He merely saw his brilliance, shining like a star under his sights. It was an instantaneous desire, driven by Fate, racing through their veins; the kind of want that neither could recognize, but desperately ached to fulfill.

"This boy, he was born to shed blood." An Elder announced, pleased, to the others after the Shining Lord's favoritism became apparent. The Moon Prince, however, was quiet as he watched his brother. This child, he saw, did not once take his eyes from the King, even as he fought vigorously against those with much more experience and skill. Despite the lack of equal talent, the child was winning his rounds. In his chest, the boy's heart had slowly begun to thump in rhythm with the Lord's own heartbeat: it was an unconscious action, nearly impossible if one was not of holy origin or destined to share a fate.

"You see it as well?" The head of the Celestial military leaned toward the Moon Prince for privacy. The older nodded, glancing at his friend's charge. They had often spoken of this boy, the Fire Star Warrior, for the Prince had noticed that rare flame in his brother's eyes—the one that often sparked inside the Shining Lord. The boy had the skill of a fine fighter.

"This boy, he shall be a great warrior, if he is to serve at the feet of the king."

The general nodded eager. The Prince stifled a chuckle at his friend's giddiness. "But, it is ultimately up to the Shining Lord. He must choose for himself."

As their conversation finished, the bell rung. It declared only three contestants left. From these three, the High King would choose his Guardian. The Star Warrior and two older men stood before the Celestial Council. The Shining Lord nearly bounced in his seat. He simply had eyes for the companion of his own age. The Moon Prince could not disagree that it could be more beneficial if his guard was the same year, for it would allow the two to grow in solidarity much more. It would also be easier for the two to respect each other, for the Lord had a habit of turning his nose at those who thought themselves more educated and many men had a terrible idea that he was too young to know much.

"I have chosen the Warrior," the Shining Lord announced without prompting or waiting a moment longer than he deemed fair. A great silence spilled across the great hall, though the High Priest's groan was the last noise to echo. The Moon Prince was tempted to let loose a smile, for the Lord's confidence was all that his heart had been missing before the ruler's arrival. The young boy looked astounded as if he could not believe the High King had called his name. Great discourse followed the decision's announcement and, for a moment, the Moon Prince's breath caught at the horrible flames that stormed in rage across the Shining Lord's face. The King had not lost his temper, not once, but a great urging rose inside him at the disrespect shown to his chosen partner.

Yes, the Moon Prince is the past life of Ronan The Accuser. Him and the Sun Soldier, Star-Lord's past life, will be introduced properly at the same time as the Guardians.

The Leyenar Gauntlet:
firefly-path/art/The-Infinity-Gauntlet-Tutorial-677588358 on DeviantArt

CAP A MUTANT?; The Globe

April 3rd, 1971

The times they are a-changing, and so is our history, folks! Leaks from inside the DoD concerning Captain America, representative of all that is good and just in our country (don't laugh yet) seem to imply that the good Captain wasn't fully human! We spoke to a source who'd seen the documents and understandably wishes to remain anonymous. He said that there was talk of a project by which Steve Rogers, previously a 5'7 asthmatic, would be turned into the giant bunch of muscles we all know and love. Scientists, amongst which was at least one German, turned Rogers into something that all eyewitness testimonies agrees went 'far beyond human!' Rogers supposedly could run faster, jump farther, and climb higher than any mortal man after the procedure that turned him into something else entirely. Although old propaganda films show that Rogers looks like a normal, if good-looking guy, we can't be sure what was hidden away beneath that cowl and those tights. In hindsight, it seems typical that America's number one soldier wasn't as spick-and-span as we'd all like to think.

STARK NAKED; The Globe

October 24th, 1997

LONDON - Everyone's favorite inventor and businessman was seen last night partying it up in London. Stark, spotted near the ME London, clearly had something to celebrate. SI is making him one of the richest people in the world. Although his net worth is undisclosed, it's estimated to be in the billions at this point. He was in London to receive the prize Clifford Patterson Medal and Prize, which he won because of his work in energy physics. However, it seems like Stark swapped out one prize for another! We're not sure who these lovely ladies are, but we bet that Stark would want to study their energy all right - enthusiastically, from the way Stark is pretty much undressed. Obadiah Stane, who runs SI for Stark, reportedly doesn't much care that his wunderkind likes drinking better than inventing - which he likes a whole lot. Stark was never arrested for possession of illegal substances, but the playboy is known for liking his fun. When our reporters asked him the morning after about the events the night before, Stark stated that he liked his social time the way he likes his science: "involving hazardous substances and preferably naked."

Congratulations, Mr. Stark!

...

"There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan." said Thanos.

Proxima Midnight knelt in front of him. "Father, we will not fail you."

Loki cheerfully emerged from behind the Black Order. " If I might interject…If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

"If you consider failure experience." said Thanos, unimpressed.

"Almighty Thanos, I...Loki...Prince of Asgard...Odinson...The rightful King of Jotunheim...God of Mischief...do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."

Thor squinted and noticed a dagger materialize in Loki's hand. Loki braced himself, thrust upward with lightning speed and attempted to stab Thanos, but got frozen in place by the Space Stone's power before the point could strike home. "Undying." You should choose your words more carefully." said Thanos. He twisted the dagger out of Loki's hand with his right hand, then took hold of Loki's neck with the gauntlet and lifted him to eye level. Loki struggled, kicking, as his throat is squeezed. He made eye contact with Thor before Thanos increased his force on Loki's neck. "You will...never be...a god." said Loki, just before Thanos could snap his neck, killing him.

The Titan walked over and dropped Loki's dead body in front of Thor. "No resurrections this time." he said, then raised the gauntlet, sent violet Power fire through the remains of the Statesman, and used the Space Stone to teleport away with the Black Order.

"No...Loki..." Thor cried, as he was freed.

Carol had dropped Leyenar in front of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, telling her that "See you soon!" As soon as Leyenar entered the place, she saw Dr. Strange himself, dressed in casual American clothes, proceeding down the main steps of the Sanctum with Wong.

"Seriously? You don't have any money?" said the doctor.

"Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual." said Wong, dressed in his traditional clothes.

"I'll tell the guys at the deli." replied Dr. Strange. "Maybe they'll make you a metaphysical ham on rye."

"Oh, wait, wait, wait, I think I have 200."

"Dollars?"

"Rupees."

"Which is?"

"Uh, buck and a half."

"What do you want?" Before Wong could answer, Dr. Strange noticed Leyenar, who had just came in. "Oh, hello, Director!"

"Hi, Doc." Leyenar replied. "I'm here to—" But before she could finish her sentence, something came crashing through the roof. It was Bruce Banner. The Cloak of Levitation swirled around Strange's shoulders immediately.

"Thanos is coming. He's coming..." muttered Bruce.

Dr. Strange was now fully in his mage attire, and he shared a look with Wong. "Who?"

"Thanos." said Leyenar, understanding what Bruce was talking about. "Referred to as the Dark Lord by his most loyal underlings and the Mad Titan by the galactic community, he's a powerful, extremist, genocidal, psychopath, violent and tyrannical Titan warlord who rules over a distant region of space and commands two massive armies, known as the Chitauri and the Outriders, and a small group of followers known as the Black Order. His own main objective was to bring stability to the universe, as he believed its massive population would inevitably use up the universe's entire supply of resources and condemn it. However, his methodology to succeed was warped; through using the Infinity Stones, Thanos intended to harness their power to exterminate half of all life in the universe. I'm here to tell you about his arrival, I got a message from the One Above All. Can you please help me make my own Infinity Gauntlet, so that I can get the Stones before he does?"

Public Park, New York City, day. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts walked on having a conversation.

"Slow down, slow down. I'm totally not kidding." said Tony.

"You're totally rambling." Pepper replied.

"No, I'm not."

"Lost me!"

"Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee?" asked Tony, and Pepper replied with a yes.

"Okay, and then you're like, "Oh my god, there's no bathroom, what am I gonna do?" "Oh! Someone's watching." "I'm gonna go in my pants." joked the genius.

"Right. And then you wake up, and in real life you actually have to pee." said Pepper.

"Yes."

"Yeah. Everybody has that."

"Right! That's the point I'm trying to make. Apropos of that, last night, I dreamed, we had a kid. So real. We named him after your eccentric uncle. Uh, what was his name?"

"Right." smiled Pepper.

"Morgan! Morgan." said Tony.

"So you woke up, and thought that we were..."

"Expecting."

"Yeah."

Tony was getting excited. "Yes?"

Pepper shook her head. "No."

"I had a dream about it. It was so real."

"If you wanted to have a kid, you wouldn't have done that." said Pepper. She untied her boyfriend's jacket sleeves and tapped his chest attachment.

"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nano particles." replied Tony. Carol sighed, watching them from afar. She thought, Even if you two had a child together, that child can't inherit Stark Industries. The rightful heir is still out there, alive. She exhaled softly, and drew the name from her lips.

"Ultron Stark-Rogers."

Back at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Leyenar was trying her new Infinity Gauntlet on. "Now...where to find the Stones?" she murmured to herself.

Dr. Strange placed a hand on her shoulder. "Fear not, we will find them soon." He then showed her his necklace. "Here's one, should I give it to you?"

"No, you keep it." said Leyenar. "I'll tell you when the time comes."