MCU 2

[Andy POV]

I harbored my doubts, but Index was right...

The moment I set foot in this reality, I drew attention.

The passive effect of my authorities made me anything but subtle, particularly in a sentient universe like this.

As seconds passed, more and more curious eyes from all corners of the universe fixated on my presence.

A grin spread across my face as my authorities extended across the cosmos, clashing with divinities and specialized powers.

It didn't take long for a challenge to be issued against my might.

Their laughter echoed in my ears, mocking the notion of one deemed mortal encroaching upon the bounds of their domains.

In my current state, devoid of an actualized spiritual weapon or projected authority, I was perceived as weak.

It was time to shatter that misconception.

Hanmugen materialized, appearing in my hand, and with its appearance, my power surged. The wiser ones, a quarter of my audience, simply vanished, unwilling to gamble on lingering and observing, while the rest remained, skeptical of my actions.

My weapon hummed to life, its haft delicately grazing the ground, sending ripples through reality while flooding my essence with immense energy.

In a fraction of a second, my authorities were alive, projected across the entirety of this reality, holding it as a hostage.

Like a torrential wave, they swept over the cosmos, stripping away any semblance of power others held over it.

Guided by Relativity, it was the concept of Space and Time that bowed first, compelling Infinity and Eternity to essentially bend the knee.

I turned toward them, looking right through their mode of observation, and locked eyes with the woman, the personification of space itself.

"Fuck off, or I'll actually make you my bitch," I spat at her bold, wide-eyed form before, with a swipe of my spear, severing their connection, splitting their method of observation, and turning toward the rest.

Simultaneously, Existence clashed with the very aspects of life and death itself, and as a non-specialized authority, this would typically mark the onset of my struggle.

Even as entities weaker than my current self, their grip on those aspects was much firmer than mine, requiring me to expend tremendous amounts of energy to slowly chip away at their power.

Yet, I had a way to sidestep all of this.

[Universal Physique] roared to life, merging my being with divinity itself. My attributes soared, and with them, so did my power over the universal aspects.

Out of the two, the control over life was the first to buckle, its hold ripped away from the Phoenix Force, while Mistress Death fought valiantly but futilely, as any semblance of power she had over death was simply stripped away from her.

A chuckle left my lips as my voice resonated across reality itself, "Know your place." The universe shook, "That was the first warning; there won't be another."

I cared not for the rest of the weaklings as I locked eyes with the three-faced entity, the personification of multiversal law, its judge, jury, and executioner, The Living Tribunal itself.

He was the strongest of the remaining entities that dared to stay and observe, and both my authorities violently clashed with his.

Yet, it was a stalemate.

He could bend universal and dimensional laws as he saw fit, almost nullifying my powers, while I did the same to his. We remained in a bubble of our own, completely repulsing each other's powers, and unable to completely overwhelm the other.

"You upset the balance," his words echoed through my surroundings, before I felt a violent tug, his power attempting to pull the space I occupied toward his court.

I chuckled, easily dispersing the teleportation attempt with a wave of my hand.

If i could do it with a tier nine entity like the System, his attempt seemed almost childlike.

"You have no right nor power to summon me," I stated, squinting my eyes, and looking at him through the veil, while a dangerous grin spread across my face.

The fabric of reality around me distorted, its layers peeled away, tearing a hole into his domain, as I attempted to summon him to me instead.

The observers returned, captivated by the spectacle of a madman confronting a multiversal entity.

Ignoring them, I gazed through the rip in reality, and the instant my eyes met his stoic golden-framed visage, a supermassive black hole materialized right before him. Its gravitational forces warped both space and time, tearing apart atoms and bending the laws of physics.

Yet, he and his throne remained steadfast, seemingly impervious to the effects, before he reciprocated my heartfelt greeting.

A wave of destruction, potent enough to effortlessly obliterate the Milky Way galaxy and ten more, was unleashed upon me. Yet the same wave energy was simply dispersed, reshaped, amplified, and returned to the sender, only to be disregarded once again as it phased right through him.

Our swift exchanges ceased, and our eyes locked. His glowing eyes penetrated me, yet found nothing, while mine searched for any weaknesses to exploit, finding none.

"There are no records of you in the multiverse," he declared after a moment of silence. His ethereal voice simultaneously emanated from everywhere and nowhere, yet his lips moved not.

"That's because I'm not from here," I replied straightforwardly. "The One limited you to this slice of the multiverse, while I can freely move between multiversal clusters," I added with a smirk. "The world is much larger than you realize."

"That may be," he nodded, not surprised by my knowledge about his creator nor refuting my words, "Your existence here is disturbing the natural order, the balance of things. It's affecting multiple realities. Why have someone of your caliber come here, outsider?"

"Vacation, among other things," I shrugged casually.

"Vacation?" His eyebrows rose in confusion before he shook his head. For the first time, he showed some emotions. "Excuse me for not trusting your words. outsider. Your actions, up until now, hint at something else, something more sinister."

"That was a necessary precaution," I pointed out. "A show of might for the skeptics," I stated, a smile spreading across my cheeks as I felt our observer's rage. "Though, I don't understand, why you care. This reality is doomed for destruction by the one that is supposed to kill you. Even The One left it to rot." My statement made the observers freeze in shock, more so when the Tribunal didn't refute me.

"That may be, but its time nor mine has not yet come." His eyes intensified once again. "Leave."

"Make me," I challenged, my smile spreading wider. My spear was already primed, ready to release a devastating soul-rending attack, while my blood boiled with excitement, ready to test the limits of my power.

Yet his next actions not only surprised me but annoyed me to no end.

A dimension-shaking sigh left his real lips and his shoulders sagged. "Leave." He commanded, but this time the order was not directed at me but at the onlookers who remained.

After the watchful eyes disappeared, he turned his attention back to me and with a calculative look asked, "What are your true intentions here, outsider?"

"Wife's pregnant," I replied feeling every other presence vanish.

"Someone choose to reproduce with you?" He asked with a shocked tone.

"I am as surprised as you are." I chuckled, waving him off, "She has some strange tastes."

"And you choose to come here to why? Keep her safe?" He asked with a grimace. "That's not the wisest of choices."

"With her capabilities, as well as the defensive gear she has on herself, there is not a lot of protection she needs from me," I explained with a shrug, fully understanding that her conceptual-based attacks could harm even me, that is if I'd allow them to reach me. "Though, I do plan on playing around a bit, changing the future and stuff."

"Even with your presence masking the future even from my sight, I guessed as much," he added with a deadpan tone, then after saying, "Very well," he descended into silence.

As minutes passed, and the silence grew uncomfortable, I couldn't help but ask, "So... Are we going to continue this or what?"

"No," he shook his head. "There is no meaning to it. I felt your power and understood it. A true fight between us would leave multiple realities uninhabitable and others undefended. I'll cut my losses short, you can have this universe, but not more. Now leave my realm, my attention is needed elsewhere."

"Oh come on!" I whined, raising my arms in annoyance. "Don't be like that, I had this epic comeback already prepared! You would be like, 'The balance was broken,'" I said with a stoic tone, gesturing and imitating him, "and then I would say, 'You speak of balance. Yet, there is no counterbalance for you!' before finishing it off with a menacing tone, 'Where there is Order, there needs to be Chaos!' and then I would have unleashed a devastating attack on you while laughing manically." I nodded with a serious expression while explaining my plan to him.

"I've heard better," he replied with a deadpan tone while ushering me to leave with his hand.

"... Fine," I grumbled. "Though I'll come back for a spar later on."

"Please don't," I could hear him say as I forcibly closed the rip in reality.

[Universal Physique]'s attribute augmentation waned, yet my complete control over the aspects of the universe persisted. I sensed a stir among the entities scattered across the cosmos, their futile attempts to reclaim what they had lost, and ignored them with a chuckle.

"Now, onto fixing this," I mumbled awkwardly, surveying the desolate landscape that was once New York, which didn't survive our little exchange.

Employing Relativity, I rewound time for the entire planet, restoring it to the moment just before my arrival in this world. This circumvented the need for information manipulation concerning the sudden destruction of the city, ensuring that no one, not even technology, would recall the catastrophic event of my short clash with the Tribunal.

Satisfied with the outcome, I nodded contentedly, grateful that the Tribunal refrained from using conceptual attacks as a greeting, then transformed my attire into mundane clothes and proceeded on my way.

"Time to secure a headquarters, IDs, and such," I muttered to myself, while utilizing Existence, to establish a mental connection to the internet and begin the task of creating and altering information, while also exercising caution to leave no evidence behind.

[Mobius M. Mobius POV]

"Mmm... This cake is absolutely delightful," I hummed, gesturing with my fork toward the scrumptious dessert, though the rest of the meeting room seemed content to ignore my culinary musings.

"Any updates on the anomaly?" Judge Gamble initiated the meeting with a direct inquiry.

"Actually, a few," responded Hunter C-20, prompting me to momentarily divert my attention from the chocolatey goodness. "The tech team—"

"Ouroboros," Loki interjected.

"Right, Ouroboros is currently working on tweaking the TempPads to grant us access to that particular timeline."

"What's taking him so long?!" Judge Gamble asked with an irritated tone.

"He's facing challenges isolating the temporal wavelength of that timeline," Loki clarified. "It appears to exist separately from the main timeline. His approach involves modulating the pads' temporal frequency, moving it along the temporal axis. But it'll take some time."

"We don't have time!" Judge Gamble exclaimed, gripping the table for support as the TVA once again shook fiercely. "Is there nothing we can do to accelerate the process?" she pleaded with desperation.

"We've already dispatched Casey to assist him."

"Casey?" The Judge asked, puzzled.

"A tech-savvy individual from accounting."

"We have an accounting team?" Judge Gamble inquired, tilting her head, and receiving only shrugs in response. "Any other ways we can aid Ouroboros?"

"Nothing we're aware of," C-20 sighed, shaking her head. "The only information we gathered indicates that the tremors are a result of the Temporal Loom reacting to the 'Secret Timeline' gravitating toward the anomaly."

"Do we know why this is happening, or the consequences if they come into contact?"

"We can only guess."

"Could this be the doing of that Loki variant?" Judge Gamble scrutinized Loki.

"Sylvie. Her name is Sylvie," he corrected. "I've spoken with her, and no, she's not responsible for this."

"Maybe she's not telling the truth?" The Judge raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't be the first time a Loki lied," she added with a snort, provoking a deep breath from Loki, his anger simmering.

"We'll talk to her again to be certain," he replied with a forced smile.

"Yes, you do that. We need certainty."

"Mm-hmm," I hummed once more, my head shaking in delight as the exquisite cake practically melted in my mouth.

"Mobius," the Judge finally addressed me, her expression serious. "Care to contribute anything remotely useful to the discussion?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could utter a word, I was cut off.

"Anything not related to desserts?"

And my mouth promptly closed.

[Infinity's POV]

"Well... This is unprecedented," my brother muttered, his tone filled with shock as he continued the emergency meeting summoned after the appearance of that outsider.

However, what followed caught everyone off guard.

As the gathered entities brainstormed ideas to eliminate the invader, a message arrived from the Tribunal himself, leaving us dumbfounded. Unwilling to unleash widespread multiversal destruction, the Tribunal conceded this reality to the outsider. Not everyone was pleased; for him, it was a minor setback in a multitude of observed universes, but for us, bound to this realm, it meant everything.

"Everyone, hear his order. What do we do now? Do we accept it as it is?" Eternity questioned with a wry expression.

"What could we do but accept?" I replied, my voice tinged with worry. Most reluctantly agreed, hesitant to defy an entity capable of erasing them with a single thought.

"How can we accept?" Mistress Death, one of the most affected by the outsider's powers, scoffed. "We can't leave all that power with that newborn. It will only lead us to ruin."

"You heard them... This realm is already headed towards ruin," I said with a wry smile. "The Tribunal didn't refute his words. What can we do against something that could kill even him? Maybe helping and guiding the outsider could prevent certain destruction."

She grimaced and shook her head. "You all can carry out the orders of a master who has abandoned us, but I won't!" She exclaimed before disappearing in a puff of black smoke, while her counter force, The Phoenix, rumbled to our right.

"Use your words, Phoenix," my brother sighed, his shoulders sagging.

"I rarely agree with that sack of bones, but this time, she is right. I have an agent in the world he is in. I'll see what she can do," Phoenix transmitted her thoughts before vanishing in a column of flame.

"Brother, I can feel it in my bones!" Lord Chaos laughed manically. "Chaos awaits!" he added with a crazed giggle, while the rest of us rolled our eyes and ignored his antics.

I glanced at his brother, Master Order, who usually kept him in check, only to deadpan after seeing him sleeping next to him with a snot bubble coming from his nose. My palm met my forehead as I shook my head at his antics. As a personification of universal order, he didn't need sleep, yet, as if not caring at all, he chose this moment to do so.

"Ignoring the lunatics in our midst," my brother continued, pulling my attention back. "Anyone else has anything to add?"

"I want to contact him," I said, carefully observing the reaction of the others. "Maybe a talk could shed some light on his personality and his future actions," I added with a shrug.

"Are you sane?!" my brother shouted, his brotherly instincts flaring, his eyebrows scrunching. "You heard the words he dared to utter to you!"

"Were those words even directed at me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, though even I didn't believe my words.

He didn't reply, but his raised eyebrow and displeased expression told me everything he thought about my idea.

"I'd suggest we observe at first," Uatu, the representative of the Watchers, voiced his idea, making the rest of us groan in annoyance.

"That's all your people are capable of," Galactus snorted, a wicked grin spread across his cheeks. "Maybe I'll make a visit to the world of your people, so you can watch how I consume them."

"Order! Please!" my brother shouted, trying to calm the ensuing chaos, when Master Order finally woke up from his nap, thinking he was being addressed.

"Yes?" He asked, blinking away his sleepiness, while the rest of us ignored him.

"There is a lot of love in him," Mistress Love swooned, adding in her idea, "Maybe I can use that?" She hummed thoughtfully, only to be interrupted by her opposite, Sire Hate.

"No, maybe I could~" He grinned maniacally, making the rest of us sigh.

"This is leading to nowhere," Eternity sighed, shaking his head. "With nothing else on our agenda... If nothing else comes up, our next bimonthly meeting is scheduled for next Thursday. Try not to be absent," he said those words while squinting his eyes at Hate, who especially hated appearing at these meetings. "This emergency meeting is concluded, and try not to antagonize the outsider. We saw that he is capable of going toe-to-toe with the Tribunal."

A chorus of 'Finally!' and 'It was time!' as well as a few snickers and agreements resounded in the background as each presence vacated our meeting grounds, one of the largest voids in space.

"What do you think will happen now?" I asked my brother with a wry smile.

"I don't know," he shook his head, "And that scares me."