AN: I'm back! And after years of silence, I'm ready to try and do something a bit more ambitious. With the lessons I've learned from previous mistakes and a desire to bring more attention to a series I love dearly, it's time we do MvCI and do it right. This is Marvel vs. Capcom: New Order. We've got five chapters done already as a sort of sample. I'll be releasing one chapter each over the next five days. Hope everyone enjoys!
Chapter 1 - As Is and Should Be
"You know, the average person does not actually see the world beyond them. As far as they are concerned, all there is to the world is whatever is in their immediate vicinity. It's such a limited thought process, it's actually quite infuriating. Imagine what could be accomplished if the average person would just look beyond their own world and see what else there is."
"Perhaps it's time to force people to look beyond themselves. I must admit, I too am quite curious as to what lies beyond…"
Tony Stark–more commonly known to the world as Iron Man–calmly worked on a new model for his Iron Man suits in Avengers Tower, humming AC/DC to himself. Tony's world had changed tremendously over the past several years. For starters, going from genius billionaire playboy to iron-suited superhero (though still a genius, and a billionaire, and a playboy) was quite the jump in status. However, thinking about how he got to that point is just as crazy.
Stark Industries made their fortune selling weapons. They were war profiteers. However, that all changed for Tony when he saw his weapons in the hands of terrorists who kidnapped him in the Middle East. He managed to escape with a prototype of the Iron Man suit, only to lose fellow captive and friend Ho Yinsen in the process. With his life and attitude changed, Tony vowed to devote himself to protecting people he had once inadvertently put in harm's way. To do that, he made the fateful choice of donning the suit that would make him Iron Man.
Little did Tony know, that would only be the beginning. S.H.I.E.L.D, other superheroes like him, the Avengers, supervillains that made the terrorists he thought he would be hunting look like cupcakes, and to top it all off, aliens. The world was a much bigger place than he realized. The futurist had failed to truly comprehend what lay beyond the world he was stepping into. But, before Tony could ponder this matter any further, he was suddenly alerted by an alarm. Its sound was paired with red lights flashing in the room. His expression immediately turned serious. A high-level threat alert.
"Talk to me, JARVIS." He called out for his AI assistant.
"Sir, Stark Industry satellites have picked up a Kree warship preparing to enter Earth's atmosphere." Came JARVIS's voice in reply.
"I'm guessing they're still sore about us kicking both them and the Skrulls off our planet." Tony noted. "Do we have their likely trajectory once they enter the atmosphere?"
"Based on their trajectory, sir, it would appear their target is the restricted Air Force base where Walter Lawson worked."
"Mar-vell," Tony noted, "okay, I don't know why they thought they could only send one warship, but we need to act regardless. JARVIS, show me who's available."
JARVIS showed Tony the images. He smiled. Whoever was on that warship was totally screwed as far as he was concerned. So, he ran over to the center of his workshop, and within seconds, mechanical arms suited him up in his default Iron Man armor.
"Time to go to work, JARVIS." Iron Man told him. "I'm putting in the call."
Iron Man returned to the monitor and sent out the call to all superheroes in the Avengers Program that JARVIS had shown to be available.
"Avengers assemble!" Iron Man ordered.
While the Avengers began to work on a particularly big threat, a single, friendly-neighborhood Spider-Man swung through the streets of Manhattan. His target was a singular villain who was fleeing after an attempted heist gone wrong. It was easy to tail him, thankfully. It was hard not to lose a guy in an armored suit blasting his way through Manhattan using flamethrowers strapped to his arms to fly.
"You know, I get you don't want to go back to jail, Steven!" Spidey exclaimed. "But making more work for the FDNY is not helping your case!"
"Then stop chasing me!" Steven Hudak, more commonly known as Scorcher, exclaimed. "None of this would've happened if you hadn't interrupted my heist!"
"Your inability to take responsibility never ceases to amaze me, Stevie." Spidey told him before firing off two lines of web. He used them both to pull himself further forward and kick him straight into the ground, knocking him onto his back.
Scorcher grunted in pain from the forceful kick. He immediately leapt to his feet and glared at Spidey.
"Damn it, why can't you just leave me alone?" Scorcher demanded.
"Haven't you ever heard the old saying: 'With great power comes great responsibility?'" Spidey asked. "Look around you, an entire city block is on fire because of yet another chase between us. I should've stopped you at your little meeting spot, and I'm not going to hear the end of it from JJ for that."
Scorcher glared at Spider-Man as he raised both his flamethrowers. Before he could burn anything, Spidey plugged both flamethrowers with several spurts of webbing that went straight inside. Scorcher's eyes widened, realizing that he would overload his own flamethrowers before he burned those things off.
"But setting an entire city block on fire is on you. You're the one who called yourself 'Scorcher' for crying out loud." Spidey pointed out before yanking himself into the air. He then fired two lines of webbing into the ground. Spider-Man then pulled himself back to the ground and kicked Scorcher in the face, flooring him in one blow.
Spider-Man quickly went to work. He set to webbing up Scorcher on the street. "Now you just stay there while I set to fixing your mess." He said to the supervillain. "Look on the bright side, Steven, you'll get the moral victory in this. JJ is going to rip me apart in the next addition of the Bugle for this one."
With that, Spider-Man set to trying to either put out the fire on his own, save anyone caught in the fires, or at least keep things contained until the FDNY arrived. Anything he could to help.
"With great power, comes great responsibility." The words that Peter Parker lived by, in and out of the mask of Spider-Man.
While Spider-Man cleaned up his and Scorcher's mess, work in the Baxter Building was going on. The mission: create a device capable of peering into the multiverse. Reed Richards–more commonly known as Mister Fantastic–had been fascinated by the very idea ever since the discovery of the Negative Zone. So, he and his beloved wife, Susan Richards–also known as Invisible Woman–were working around the clock to make this idea a reality.
"Remember, Darling, this machine needs to be able to change frequencies and therefore capable of changing coordinates it can focus on." Reed reminded her. "Think of it like a telescope, changing viewpoints upon command."
"Understood, Reed." Susan replied. However, she could not help but voice her concerns with this machine. "Darling, this will only be used to peer into other universes, correct?"
"Of course, of course," Reed said absentmindedly as he typed away on two different monitors, stretching out his right arm to reach one in the process, "at first at least. I would like to be able to speak with people from a different universe at some point though. It would be nice to speak with someone from a different universe or dimension that is neither Annihilus nor Blastaar."
"It is precisely because beings like Annihilus and Blastaar exist that we need to be careful who we open up a door for, Darling." Susan reminded him. "I really think we should consider treating this like a web app."
"I'm afraid I don't follow." Reed admitted. Susan giggled. For such a brilliant man, her husband could be rather slow on the uptake. She found it to be quite endearing.
"I'm talking about versions, Darling." Susan explained. "Perhaps Version 1 can be a telescope, or to use a better analogy, a window. Then, once we're satisfied, we can move onto Version 2, which can be a door."
"We should at least consider the possibility of it being a one-way door though. Imagine viewing a universe in crisis and being unable to help? I don't think any of us could live with that." Reed pointed out.
"That is certainly true, and I don't doubt you could make something like that." Susan acknowledged. "But if we can enter, someone else can do the same with our world. How many times have Blastaar or Annihilus and their armies almost entered our world?"
Reed sighed, unable to argue with that. "The Negative Zone still has much that is worth studying. I for one would love to build a prison there to house some particularly difficult supervillains. And there is much I would love to study about the negatively charged energy that makes up the Negative Zone. The sample we brought back has been excellent research material, but it's not enough to determine what kind of benefits it could have for our world."
Susan sighed as well. She could not argue with her husband's logic. The possible benefits certainly made the risk worth pursuing. But the two monstrous conquerors who wanted to expand into Earth really gave her pause.
"I suppose it's a conversation worth having once we finish Version 1." Susan conceded.
"Any concerns we have can be dealt with once we've proven we're actually capable of gazing into the multiverse." Reed proclaimed. "The multiverse is a concept that we only have theories of, unfortunately. The Negative Zone is but a dimension. Alternate universes are an idea we know very little about. That is what makes it worth pursuing."
"Whatever you say, Darling." Susan chuckled.
"Have you thought about what it will be like once we succeed though?" Reed asked curiously.
"I'm afraid I have not." Susan admitted.
"There are many different theories on what the multiverse is like." Reed explained. "Some think that alternate universes are just alternate versions of our own universe. Some so similar you cannot possibly distinguish the two. While others are so different they defy comprehension."
"I've definitely heard that theory before." That was no lie. Susan had heard that. She heard it from Reed himself once upon a time. He must have forgotten when he told her.
"There is another prevailing theory on multiverse." Reed continued. "The universes beyond our own are completely different. Places where we don't even exist and they're instead populated by completely different beings. In fact, you could even guess there is a universe out there not even populated by humans and you would likely be right."
"I see." Susan muttered.
"That's why this is worth studying. Imagine what we could learn just by figuring out what the correct theory on the multiverse is." Reed told her. "And after that, imagine what could be achieved if universes worked together."
"Imagine what could be destroyed." Sue grimly noted. Reed froze. Sue winced, wondering if she had been too tactless. Reed never paused in his work when he got in the zone unless something particularly piercing was said to him.
"I know," he said after a moment of silence, "but I cannot ignore the possible benefits to this research as well. And I must admit, I can't imagine not pursuing something so intriguing."
Susan giggled. "I know," she said, "I know who I married, Reed. You don't have to worry about that."
"I don't deserve you, Darling." Reed admitted.
"No, you do not." Susan teased. "Now come on, let's keep working."
Reed chuckled in contentment. This was where he was happiest. Working with the love of his life, with the rest of his family in the next room. Whether he was Mister Fantastic or Reed Richards, he had a happy life.
The universe through the eyes of a man who protects the entire planet. The universe through the eyes of a man who protects a small part of it. The universe through the eyes of a man who wishes to look further beyond. Three different lives, three different viewpoints, three different lifestyles. This was the state of the universe filled with superheroes and supervillains.
However, what of the different universes sought by Reed Richards? What were their lives like? How did they get along in a world without superheroes, if the ideal that different universes were completely different from Reed's was true?
In another universe, lay many versions of Earth where heroes never truly die. In one such version of Earth, a single, muscular, blonde-haired man worked at his computer as he officially closed a file on an organization called Shadaloo with a somber expression on his face.
"It's finally over," Colonel Guile of the U.S. Air Force muttered to himself, "the last remnants of Shadaloo have been dealt with. Any attempts at a comeback at this point would be next to impossible."
Guile gazed at the photo on his desk. It was of him and his superior officer and best friend back in the day, Charlie Nash. The two looked so happy back then.
"I guess all those great philosophers were right when they talked about how empty revenge actually was, huh Charlie?" He mused to himself.
"Then I guess it's a good thing you hunted them all down for justice, right?" A gentle female voice asked of Guile.
Guile turned his voice to see a beautiful, muscular, Chinese woman, staring at him with a kind hearted expression on her face. A little girl was hiding behind one of her legs.
"Chun Li," Guile said in slight surprise, "I'd have thought you'd be halfway to China by now."
"I wanted to check in one last time, see how you were doing." Chun Li replied.
"I'm doing as well as you can imagine, considering years of work has finally come to an end." Guile sighed. "Now I honestly have no idea what to do with myself."
"You could always go home and be a family man." Chun Li joked.
"Oh, ha ha," Guile had to give a grudging smile at that statement. His face fell again. "It feels weird to know we can close the chapter on Shadaloo officially, don't you think? Considering how much of our lives that organization defined…what Bison did to both of us."
Chun Li's expression briefly soured. She then smiled again.
"Perhaps our trials and tribulations back then were meant to teach us both that the important thing was finding justice for all of Shadaloo's victims, and not satisfying our own desires?" She offered. "I think my father can rest in peace knowing Shadaloo has been brought to justice, not that I got revenge for him."
"Though perhaps it's easy to feel this way because I have this little one to look after now?" Chun Li continued as she knelt down and patted the little girl, Li Fen, on the head. "I've got far more important things to worry about than vengeance. Don't you think that with your family waiting for you to come home, you should be feeling the same way."
"Maybe you're right," Guile sank back into his chair, "but Charlie's still listed at unknown status. I know, I know, I watched him die a second time. But even so, I just can't bring myself to declare him dead again. I just know in my gut he's out there."
"If he's out there, you'll find him again. You're best friends. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be." Chun Li assured him. "Until then though, you should really rest. Bison and Gill are gone. A soldier should be happy there's peace, right?"
Guile had no response to that. Chun Li walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Though if you need me, call me or email me. I'll make myself available to chat, I promise. Take care of yourself, Guile."
Guile let himself smile. "You too," he replied as Chun Li and Li Fen left his office. He then looked at the photo of him and Charlie and sighed. "Maybe she's right. Maybe it is time to go home and enjoy a little bit of peace for a change, eh buddy? I just wish I knew where you were."
Meanwhile, on a different Earth, one in the far more technologically advanced future, a single old man with a big white beard sat in silence as he gazed at some old photos. The photos were a younger version of him with another man with a very big and noticeable mustache. The old man sighed in sorrow and longing.
"Were we ever so young, Albert? How could things have gone so wrong?" He wondered.
"Dr. Light?" A boyish voice tried to get the old man's attention.
Thomas Light, the famous father of modern robotics, turned to see a young man in blue armor. He was staring at him with a great deal of concern. Dr. Light should have been incredibly proud of this. After all, this meant that the boy was living proof that his greatest dream: robots with free will, had come to fruition. In any other situation, seeing the boy with such concern on his face would have filled Dr. Light with joy. However, his sadness at his old partner still had not reformed after so many attempts at world domination were finally starting to get to him. Even so, Dr. Light managed a smile for the robot boy, who for all intents and purposes his son.
"Please do not worry so much, Rock." Dr. Light called him by his real name. "I'm fine, Albert's latest actions have simply worn on me more than usual."
Rock, also known as the super fighting robot hero, Mega Man, winced slightly at the mention of his greatest nemesis, the mad scientist, Dr. Wily. Albert Wily had attempted world domination twelve times. The story was well-known to everyone involved at this point. Thomas Light and Albert Wily had once been close friends and partners in the field of robotics, and had even gone through university together.
However, their time in university caused a rift between the two. Dr. Light had become concerned with Dr. Wily's design, the Double Gear System, which was to push a robot beyond its normal specs. When this resulted in bringing Wily before a committee, Wily's research was stopped while Light's research into robots with free will was pushed forward. Wily had taken this as a personal attack on him by his former partner and left university to complete his research on his own.
Years later, as Dr. Light worked towards a society improved with the help of robots, Dr. Wily would resurface and partner with Dr. Light. This was where he would reveal his true colors. Dr. Wily would steal six of Dr. Light's masterpieces, the Robot Masters, and reprogram them for evil. This would force Rock to be redesigned as Mega Man to battle Dr. Wily's evil. This would continue on and on, encompassing many other attempts at world domination. Dr. Wily's last attempt, involving his Double Gear System's resurgence, seemed to have left Dr. Light more shaken.
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir." Mega Man replied. "I know you were really hoping you could reform him this time."
Dr. Light looked at the picture again. "We used to be such good friends and rivals, pushing each other to greater intellectual heights." He reminisced. "Thinking back, there are so many things I could've done differently."
"I could've offered the chance to work with him to perfect the Double Gear System so that robots would not be so strained. Perhaps I could've told the committee the benefits of such a system if it were just perfected, rather than just badger Albert's research and claim it must be stopped."
"Doctor, please, you shouldn't feel so bad. It's not your fault." Mega Man tried to assure him.
"Rock, you're living proof that Albert's research into the Double Gear System was brilliant." Dr. Light reminded him. "I was his friend. I had no right to just stomp on his dreams the way I did. If I had been a proper friend, I would've suggested back then to combine our dreams and create the ultimate robot. The hero he dreamed of. The hero…that you became."
"So many attempts at world domination, so much pain and suffering, that all could have been prevented if I had greater foresight back then." Dr. Light lamented.
Mega Man shook his head. "Doctor, may I offer you my opinion?" He requested. Dr. Light nodded. "I don't think you really should hold yourself responsible for the choices Dr. Wily made. Perhaps the two of you had a falling out back at the university, but you still offered him a job to work with you, side by side in ushering the age of robotics. You offered the olive branch to set things right between the two of you."
"Your point is?" Dr. Light inquired.
"My point is simple," Mega Man said to him, "perhaps your falling out was long ago at the university, but choosing to attempt world domination as many times as he has is entirely on him."
Dr. Light seemed to brighten from these words. "Is that really how you feel?"
Mega Man nodded. "It was his choice to do it the first time in spite of your olive branch, and it was his choice to do it every time afterwards." He assured Dr. Light. "So please, don't blame yourself for what Dr. Wily has done, sir. It would break Roll's heart, for one thing."
Dr. Light just smiled at pride with the robot boy's wisdom. "By God, look at you, Rock. You are truly my greatest achievement. A robot with free will, who can handle the strain of the Double Gear System, and has the sense for right and wrong to fight for justice. You are living proof that a world where humans and robots make each other better can be a reality."
"Doctor, please." Mega Man looked embarrassed. "I can't blush, but still."
Dr. Light chuckled. "You're right though, it is time I stop moping and get back to work. Perhaps with the growth you have shown in your programming, it's time I start examining the possibility of robots advancing even further beyond."
"What do you mean, Doctor?"
"I'm talking about robots with more than just free will, Rock." Dr. Light told him. "Ask yourself, my boy, what if robots could emote as well."
"Robots that can emote, Doctor?" Mega Man was surprised.
"Once my research is complete, I would like for you to be the first subject." Dr. Light told him. "After all, you have already matured like a real boy growing up. You are more than capable of handling the emotions that come with this research."
"I'm honored, Doctor."
"Rock, the honor is mine, my boy." Dr. Light smiled at him.
Meanwhile, on another different Earth, a dark castle stood under a sky of eternal night. A single, curvaceous, green-haired woman strode towards a regal-looking bath filled with water. Her black outfit suddenly dissolved into bats as her naked form made its way towards the bath. Morrigan Aensland, heiress to House Aensland, giggled as stepped into the tub. These were the moments she truly felt at peace, where she could just enjoy herself and not have to worry about the responsibilities she had finally decided to take seriously.
Morrigan sighed contentedly as she soaked in her personal tub, her body lathered in bubbles and soap. "Ah, I think that moments like these make being trapped in this castle worth it." She mused to herself.
Morrigan looked up at the ceiling. "Ah, but if Daddy could hear me talk like that, he would tell me I'm still not being responsible as the new head of the Aenslands and the rightful Queen of the Night." She lamented.
Morrigan hummed thoughtfully. "The problem is, I'm starting to feel very famished. I need to make a trip to the human world soon. Pick some fights. Hit up a few of those clubs that are all the rage nowadays. Feed on a dream or ten and invade just as many to turn them into the fun kind of dreams."
Morrigan grumbled. "But if I didn't have to worry about being Queen of the Night, I could do that all the time. These are the moments where I wish I could just hand things over to Demitri and call it good. Ugh, but Daddy would never approve of that either. Handing over the throne to a Maximoff after all that feuding between our families would probably make him return from the grave to punish me."
Desiring a different form of stimulant, Morrigan decided she had bathed long enough and rose from the tub, unbothered by flaunting her nudity. After all, who was around to watch? As an entity suddenly formed near Morrigan from the shadows, that question was quickly answered when it took the shape of a pink-haired succubus. Morrigan's other self/sister/other half/whatever, Lilith, smiled mysteriously as Morrigan dried herself off.
"Now then, my dear Lilith, how should the bats adorn me today?" Morrigan inquired.
"Anything looks beautiful on you, Morrigan." Lilith replied.
"Humor me, darling." Morrigan chuckled as bats suddenly appeared and began to form into a particular attire around Morrigan's body. They even changed color. Morrigan was soon dressed and found herself looking into a mirror and dressed as a nurse.
"What do you think? A naughty nurse, here to 'treat' any ailment her patients may have?" Morrigan posed in front of the mirror. Lilith applauded.
The bats then flew off of Morrigan and then reformed and changed colors into bright, blood red. Morrigan was now in a red-leather outfit that clung tightly to her. "How about this one? Perfect for a night on the town, yeah? Makes you wonder how many galoshes died to make this little number, eh?"
"But bats make up your outfits, Morrigan." Lilith pointed out.
"We need to work on your sarcasm, Lilith." Morrigan smirked.
The bats left Morrigan once more, then quickly formed into a new outfit. "Geisha perhaps?" Another change. "Sexy secretary, here for a raise?
Yet another costume change followed. "Or maybe I just come right out and say I intend to dominate you and make you call me mistress? If you take exception to the idea, my whip can certainly set you straight."
Lilith applauded every single costume. Morrigan then sighed and her bats changed one more time. She now wore her usual attire. "The classics always win for a reason."
"You're incredible no matter what, Sister." Lilith praised.
"Thank you, darling." Morrigan said with a chuckle. "Now, would you like to see if the two of us can go out and find some humans to play with before I inevitably get dragged into whatever they have for the Queen of the Night today?"
"I would follow you anywhere, Morrigan." Lilith reminded her.
"Good girl, I still have much to teach you about our ways anyway." Morrigan chortled.
Earths where some look to the future. Earths where some are stuck in the past. Earths where some want to live in the present. This is the universe where heroes never truly die.
Two vastly different universes with differing histories, worlds, rules and more. However, both shared one commonality: great power and the great responsibility that came with it. Two vastly different universes where by all intents and purposes, neither would ever meet nor have any reason to meet. Then, one day, in what felt like an instant, both universes disappeared without a trace. On that day, they were replaced by one single universe. It was never meant to happen, yet somehow it did…
"Unfortunately, I have no explanation for how this has happened. My device was only meant to open portals to other universes."
"Do you at least have a theory? This complicates our plan."
"The only possibility I've considered is the warning I gave you when we first started this endeavor. The energy required to go beyond an established multiverse into a different one is an unheard of amount. My guess is when we began opening portals, the tremendous amount of energy created something comparable to a supernova explosion, which births black holes."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, because of the explosion of energy, we inadvertently created something comparable to a black hole. And as I'm sure you know, the pull of a black hole is absolute. None can escape it, not even light. And when we created this…pseudo-black hole with my machine, we pulled in both universes and in their place created an amalgamation of them."
"What recklessness! Your plan is giving me pause now! What if you had destroyed the very universes that you and I were meant to rule?"
"Do not worry yourself, my friend. I ran simulation upon simulation to ensure that even in the worst case scenario, the process would not destroy universes. And my scanners indicate that this new universe we created is still filled to the brim with life. I must admit, creating a new universe, even inadvertently, makes me feel quite divine."
"Curb your curiosity and jubilation! This still complicates things, does it not?"
"Not at all, my friend. In fact, I would personally argue this simplifies things. With this, we only have one universe to conquer that is a legitimate threat to our plans. In fact, who knows, with the chaos that will undoubtedly rise from this new, unfamiliar madness, I can't help but wonder if they will ultimately destroy themselves. After all, it is a timeless fact that the world is perpetually in an arms race. After all, with every new weapon that was ever invented and used on the battlefield, the rest of the world scrambled to catch up."
"Your point?"
"My point is, once new players in this 'arms race' of superpowers reveal themselves, the rest of this new universe will scramble to meet these new challenges. Organizations from both our respective universes will unite and others will follow to try and match their power. In fact, just by merging universes together, we might've just started the first interuniversal war with this happy little accident."
"The more time I spend with you, the more I realize that genius and madness really do go hand in hand."
"And what does that say about you, the man who so readily agreed to my plan once I explained it?"
"Hmph."
"Have a little faith, my divine friend. Like I have explained, this could be to our advantage. For now, let us simply continue to make preparations. There is much we have left to accomplish to build our Multiversal Empire. This is our new universe order, NU Order."
A new norm had begun for two universes. One that would lead to a grand adventure…and a grand conflict.
AN: Four years. Four years of planning, four rewrites, and a strong desire to get it right. I've worked hard to learn from my mistakes even before I started working on this and during my attempts to get this off the ground. Did you know the Infinity Stones were supposed to be involved in one iteration? Yeah, didn't want to copy MvCI and the MCU. So, I hope everyone enjoys what I've ultimately settled on.
Anyway, let's state the obvious, these are not MCU incarnations of characters. No, I'm taking the best of each characters as I create my own continuity of Marvel comics. Can I do that? Of course I can. How many freaking versions of Earth are there in Marvel, huh?
Anywho, the setup chapter is done and the new villains: NU Order, have struck. But who are the leaders of NU Order? And what happens next? Find out next time! I hope everyone enjoyed! Follow, review and favorite!