A/N: Idk why I'm starting another fic when I'm already writing one but whatever.
I should probably warn you that I'm only slightly familiar with the MCU lore. I've watched the Avengers movies and some others but that's it. So expect inaccuracies and me making stuff up because I can't be arsed to go through a million supplementary shows and movies.
The main action starts somewhere right before the first Avengers movie.
Shadow Garden will be OP to an extent to make it all interesting.
Cid will be his good old delusional OP self
Cid Kagenou had always known that his destiny was a great one, to become the Eminence in Shadow. That is why, when he found himself cradled in the arms of an unknown woman who called herself his mother it didn't take him long to put two and two together.
He reincarnated as an infant in another world. Or so he thought at first, but taking a look around the room he knew it was an ordinary modern hospital's room.
'Don't tell me I died in my lame non-magical world only to end up reincarnated back in it. Such a waste of the 'reincarnation trope'. Now if I die again I definitely won't reincarnate as it would be overusing the trope.'
Upon realising it he felt like crying. A lot. Thankfully, he was an infant, so it would only be expected of him, so there was no shame in it. Before the tears started rolling however he felt something in the air. Concentrating on it, he saw what it was. Some kind of energy, flowing through the air like a wind current.
Cid knew what it was the moment he laid his eyes on it.
Magic.
This world had magic.
Once again, Cid felt like crying, but these were the tears of happiness.
Now, he would unlock his true potential and become what he had always dreamt of being.
An incredibly stylish, mysterious and powerful Eminence in Shadow.
Of course, that'd have to wait for several years. After all, he couldn't really be the Eminence until he at least had full control on his bladder.
12 years later
'This world truly is something else.'
Not only was it filled with magic, but there were real, honest to god superheroes. Just the thought of this world's potential for an eminence like him gave him chills.
Aside from that, in terms of technology and culture the world seemed almost identical to his previous one.
But instead of Japan, this time he was born in New York, USA. Yet more opportunities for his eminence act in this sprawling urbanistic hive of villainy.
Despite the fact that magic was real in this world, it seemed no one was able to utilise it, or at least Cid hadn't heard of such people. Right now he knew of only two people capable of magic. His sister and himself.
His elder sister, Claire Kagenou was by all accounts, a pain in the ass. She was always hanging around him, nagging and annoying Cid at every opportunity. Apart from that, she also played the role of a perfect child. There wasn't a thing that she didn't excel at. Truly a child to make their parents proud. Part of it was due to her tenacious and somewhat barbarous nature. When she was around, everything was a nail and she was a warhammer.
The other part was the stupidly high amount of mana that always seemed to surround her wherever she went (his working theory was that when he was born he somehow marked her with the part of his own overpowered mana. He didn't know if that even made sense but it did sound cool so he rolled with it) After making certain calculations using only the most reliable works as sources (fantasy light novels), he came to the conclusion that at 14 years old Claire would match an average Senior Magic Sage in those novels mana-wise. If she really wanted, she could unleash some serious firepower.
Luckily for everyone in New York, Cid convinced her to hide her abilities and avoid using them openly. But it was not done for the benefit of other people. Of course not. He just didn't want her to stand out.
While Cid preferred being in the shadow of someone much more popular and who seemed more capable, as was the case of his sister outshining him in everything in their day to day life, he didn't want her to catch government's attention just yet, not while he lived under the same roof with her. The true Eminence always stays out of sight, which would be pretty hard to do under the 24 hour surveillance by the FBI, CIA and other non-believers in human rights.
And so his sister acted like a normal human being (Cid would put the word 'normal' in massive quotation marks) so as to not attract unwanted attention.
Meanwhile, Cid enjoyed the fruits of his labour from the previous life. He was pretty much unstoppable with his mana, knowledge of every fighting technique and the knowledge that he was doing the right thing. (a/n: he wasn't)
At 12 years old Cid could confidently charge into a group of gunmen and leave their broken bodies and emptied wallets in his wake.
He was unstoppable for common thugs right now, but he planned on bettering himself, until he could finally challenge a nuke.
He knew it would not be easy and would require herculean efforts. But Cid was nothing if not determined and delusional.
And so, every other night he would sneak out of his house, wearing black jacket with a hood (mandatory), black pants and black sneakers. His appearance had to be consistent and stylish.
He would prowl the city, looking for criminals to kill and relieve of their mortal possessions.
After all, if he wanted to build an entire secret organisation one day, he would need a lot of funds. Thankfully, New York brimmed with potential law-non-abiding citizens who could donate.
And so, as he killed night and night again rumours started spreading throughout the city of the one who called himself the Stylish Bandit Killer.
One night Cid encountered a particularly large group of criminals. They were well equipped, assault rifles, armour and all. Following them underground and through abandoned metro tunnels he soon found himself in an underground laboratory of sorts. At this point it was no longer about the money.
'No way! A real secret underground lab! You guys certainly know your stuff! That's some super villain tier action right here!'
Now, as the Eminence that protected the world, Cid had to kill everyone here and stop whatever evil they were planning. (cid had no idea if they were actually planning something evil).
So that's what he did. Caring little for who was in the way, he cleared the entire lab and painted its walls red in record time.
'Wow, gotta hand it to you guys, for a bunch of bandits, you really nailed the evil militarised secret organisation vibe. Man I wish guys with passion for aesthetics like you were not so rare to come by.'
Having cleared the lab of all the bad guys Cid started to wander around, searching for something cool looking enough to be considered a secret weapon that they had been working on or a doomsday device.
Unfortunately for him, no such luck. It was all papers and documents that Cid didn't have patience to read.
The only thing of note was some sort of black goo/slime. He had no idead what they were using it for, but surprisingly enough, it resonated with his magic, allowing him to manipulate it. After a few tries to make different shapes he decided to take it with him to test it out later.
Suddenly, Cid came to an abrupt halt in the middle of a corridor. He heard something he didn't expect to hear anymore tonight.
Footsteps. Rapid.
Someone was running in his direction, and by the sound of it, it was a single person.
'Ah, reinforcements? But would they really only send one person? Well, doesn't really matter. I have to greet them.'
Leaning his back against the wall and lifting his head to look at the ceiling he waited for the newcomer. He assumed his most theatrical 'eminence-waiting-for-you-in-the-corridor- because-he-knew-you-would-show-up' pose and waited.
Curiously enough, while he didn't see who was coming he could sense their mana. It wasn't much, compared to him, but far more than regular humans.
At this point Cid expected to see some sort of a special mob, maybe even a mini boss.
What he didn't expect was a blond girl of around his age in what looked like a hospital gown.
He was surprised, but didn't show it and insted went witn the script he had just made up while waiting.
"I was waiting for you."
